Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin {30 Minutes}

This Air Fryer Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin recipe is simple to make and you just can’t go wrong with wrapping it up in bacon and slathering it with a three ingredient bourbon honey mustard glaze. This can all be done on a weeknight in under 30 minutes. Seriously!

Costco has wonderful pork tenderloin packed in a two-pack, which is a huge family favorite as it’s tender, delicious and is easy to prepare. You can oven roast or grill it using the same technique below. 

🍽️ Why This Recipe Works 

Fast – This is one recipe that you can get in the Air Fryer and out in under 30 minutes for those nights where every minute counts. 

Easy – Once you wrap the bacon around the pork, this is a hands off recipe. The Air Fryer does all the magic for you to create a delicious, tender and juicy dinner that goes perfectly with potatoes, roasted veggies and a romaine salad. 

Meal Prep Friendly – Make the sauce ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator. Prep the pork by wrapping it with bacon and covering it in the refrigerator. Simply pull it out when you get home from work and place in the Air Fryer. Like we talk about in Meal Prep 101, look for as many ways to save time as you can to keep feeding your family healthy meals at home.

🐖 Ingredients

Pork Tenderloin – This shouldn’t be confused with pork loin.  Let’s not ask how I learned that! 😀 They are two different cuts of meat.  Pork tenderloin (what we are preparing) is usually found in vacuum packaging and is long and thin.  It comes from the muscles along the spine of the pig and is considered the most tender cut of pork. 

Bacon – You will use about ¾ of a package of bacon.  Use thinly sliced versions, as they are much easier to weave around the pork and you will make sure they are fully cooked and crispy.

Bourbon, Honey and Mustard Glaze – These are the only three ingredients in the glaze which makes this one super simple. The stone ground mustard has the big mustard seeds which works perfectly with the honey and bourbon, which both add the sweetness.  This is one of my favorite glazes (whether you choose to use the bourbon or not). It adds a burst of flavor for this bacon wrapped tenderloin. 

🍽️ Instructions 

Trim the Tenderloin

Take a few minutes and remove any excess fat and silver skin (the little bit of connective tissue that is affixed to the meat). The fat comes off pretty easy using your fingers and the silver skin may just need a little help from the kitchen shears. This whole process takes 1-2 minutes. If you don’t remove the silver skin, it can be hard to cut through once the meat is cooked. 

Weave the Bacon

Step One: Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan and lay several pieces of bacon side by side.  We used seven, as it looked like it would be wide enough to cover the tenderloin.

Step Two: Start weaving bacon from the side to create a crosshatch, basket-weave pattern. 

Note: It is much easier to do this with thinly sliced bacon.  Also, the thin bacon will crisp up much better than the thick cut variety.

Wrapping the Tenderloin

Step One: Lay the tenderloin in the center of the woven bacon and sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper on both sides. 

Step Two: Lift the parchment paper (with the bacon) and wrap it over the top of the pork. The parchment paper holds the bacon weave together for you while you wrap this around. 

Step Three: Peel back the parchment paper making sure the bacon adheres to the pork. Press down on the bacon to make sure it sticks.

Step Four: Repeat the process for the other side of the tenderloin.

Make the Glaze

This three ingredient glaze is perfect not only for this meal, but you will find that you will want to make it for other dishes as well. Why not when it’s only three ingredients and has a sweet and tangy flavor that everyone loves. 

Step One: Pour the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Heat to  medium-high and stir while bringing it to a boil. 

Step Two: Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step Three: Turn off the stovetop and allow it to cool.  As it cools, it will thicken a little. This is going to make it perfect to brush on the pork and it is going to adhere to the bacon beautifully. 

♨️ Air Frying

Step One: Set the Air Fryer to 400 degrees and allow it to preheat. Add the wrapped tenderloin to the Air Fryer once it is preheated.  Cook for 20 minutes. Turn it over half way through.

Step Two: With about 5 minutes left, pull the tenderloin out and brush on the glaze one or two times. Put it back in the Air Fryer for the remaining 5 minutes. 

Step Three: Insert a wireless meat thermometer to monitor the temperature of the pork. When it reaches 145 degrees, it is fully cooked.  

Step our: Apply the glaze again when you remove it from the Air Fryer and allow it to rest for ten minutes under a tent of foil. 

💡 Expert Tips

The parchment paper wrapping trick is the easiest way I found to wrap the pork in bacon. If you don’t have any, use Wax Paper or even foil. Use anything that will help you hold the weave together and allow you to wrap the pork. 

Make sure to allow the pork to rest after you take it out. We are so busy that we want to take it out and cut the meat and get it on the table. The rest period allows the juices to stay in the meat rather than puddle out on the cutting board which may leave the meat too dry. 

Meal Prep this one by pre weaving the bacon wrapping it on the pork. 

The bacon is fatty and it will drip in the air fryer. The best way I have found to address that is to lay pieces of bread in the drip pan. The bread catches the drippings and it stops it from splattering and smoking. Check out the photo below to see it in action.

Recipe FAQs

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