I’m flummoxed when it comes to pork tenderloin, evidently. I’m mastered seafood and fish, chicken and beef. I think the secret to a great protein is juuuuuuust cooking it enough, and it’s a fine line.
But boy am I good at making a perfectly decent pork tenderloin tough and stringy.
Should I brown it first? I’ve gone the “broil” it route to give it color, then bake. I’m baking uncovered, and in a convection oven. Should I just bake regular, sans convection? Is that drying it out?
I’ve done this at least half a dozen times. I wouldn’t say the meal is inedible but the poor boy makes this face that reads “I don’t understand how you can make a perfectly medium rare ribeye, pulled pork to die for and roast chicken that makes me swoon…yet this tastes so average”.
It’s a tricky cut of meat - very lean, very small.
I suspect you’re simply cooking it too long - it cooks amazingly fast. Do you have a meat thermometer? That’ll help.
Here’s more or less what I do, for a simple pork tenderloin. Spice it up as you see fit:
1 - If it’s oddly-shaped, cut off the tips and/or truss it so it’s more or less even all the way down. Put salt and pepper and whatever other spices/herbs you want on it.
2 - Dry it off well, brown it on all sides in a skillet with a little oil.
3 - Put it on a rack in a baking dish, roast at 375 for maybe 15-20 minutes. You’re looking for about 140 degrees in the thickest part. I do convection for this step. Actually, I do convection for everything. It doesn’t dry anything out.
4 - take it out, let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes. Slice and serve.
Probably the easiest way to make yummy pork, however, is to ditch the tenderloins and just roast a nice pork shoulder. WAY better IMO.
I definitely agree with the meat thermometer for both pork tenderloin and pork loin. I like it in the same general ballpark as Athena, maybe 5 degrees higher. But if you get into the 160s, you’re asking for trouble in terms of texture.
Otherwise, I just brown and cook it uncovered in the oven, although I do it with a bit lower heat (like 325), and let it come to my target of about 145.
However, there’s still a lot of people I know who can’t stand pink in their pork. For those people, I brine the sucker and cook it “well done.”
I mix Caribbean Jerk seasoning in with vegetable oil and marinade the tenderloin. I grill it (them; usually 2 in the pkgs i buy) on indirect heat (turn off the middle burner, basically) and rotate it every couple of minutes for 10-12 min, until is done on the outside but still quite rare in the middle. Take off and rest, covered, for ~10 min. Always gotten very positive reviews.
Couldn’t be easier - heck, I make it for the family on school nights. A package of Goya Cuban black beans and rice, some wilted spinach - 30 min from start to finish.
I usually bring the meat to RT first, start it in an oven pre-heated to 500 for one minute, and then put a pan of water in the oven when I turn the heat down.
By coincidence, I’m making one this afternoon. I’ll try pan-searing it as described below and let you know.
I like the grill method myself.
Turn the grill up to high, but not super high. Once it’s nice and hot, with the grill open the whole time, put it on for 3 minutes, then turn to the opposite side for three more. Then 90 degrees for 3 more, and the remaining side for 3. If the center isn’t to temp, turn off one grill burner and turn the other down to medium.
Move the meat to the unlit side, close the lid until the center comes to temp(if things have worked should be only a couple more minutes max).
If it looks like a smaller tenderloin, change to 2.5 per side.
Internal temp is the key as stated above. Overcooking = dry. I like to pull at around 140 degrees and let the carryover take it to around 145-150 degrees. Pork doesn’t have to be well done anymore. A little tiny hint of pink is fantastic.
The above posters are correct that you simply must not overcook. The problems are that pork today is very lean, and the tenderloin and loin are both very lean cuts. People want - or think they want - lean meat, but it’s very hard to cook it through and have it juicy.
For people who want no trace of pink in their pork - and my wife is one of them, no matter how many times we’ve watched cooking shows where the chefs explain that you no longer have to cook pork until well done - it’s just about impossible to cook pork loin. Tenderloin is a tad easier, but still difficult.
When grilling we always use the 7-6-5 method. Described here.
When cooking indoors, I brown the meat on all sides, then add a little white wine to the pan and pop it in a 350 oven for 20 minutes. Remove and rest for 5 minutes.
In both cases I let the meat come to room temp before cooking.
All else is flexible - brine vs rub vs saucing after.
I’ve recently found that my meat tends to come out a lot better with the reverse sear technique. Roast the tenderloin over low heat (~200 - 250F oven) until it hits about 130 or so, take it out to rest for 10 minutes and then either sear in a skillet or back in a 500F oven for 5 minutes.
Searing raw meat takes a long time because you first have to evaporate all the water before you can start browning. Searing already cooked meat goes a lot faster and you get more even browning. Because you sear faster, you only get a tiny band of overcooked meat and the rest of the meat is wonderfully even due to the low heat cooking.
You’re actually most likely fine eating pork raw, if you like it that way. Trichonosis is pretty much unknown in the US these days, and I’ve eaten raw pork several times myself, either in the form of mett (basically, a pork version of beefsteak tartare) or just tasting the spice mix while making sausage.
I haven’t gotten brave enough with poultry, though, and, from my reading, it’s probably best I don’t get too comfortable with raw meat to extend it to poultry. At least not here.
The only time I’ve ever tried cooking pork tenderloin, it was a tender, juicy, flavorful victory! The two things that likely contributed to its success were (1) I stuffed it with a combination of sauteed onions and peppers and chorizo, which would have helped counteract the tenderloin’s natural leanness, and (2) I wrapped it tightly in several layers of foil before baking, which helped prevent moisture loss.
I do love me some pork shoulder I have made pulled pork about ten different ways in the last year but the best and most flavorful ends up being with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a can of Whole Foods 365 Dr. Pepper and some brown sugar. I believe I got it from the Pioneer Woman.
timidly raises hand I’ve always liked a medium rare steak and as I age, I like it closer to the rare end. But pink pork does not make my mouth happy.
What would I do to brine it?
Also another glaring error of mine. I ALWAYS bring a (beef) steak to room temperature. Why it never occurred to me to do so with pork is unclear.
Sorry. I never got to this. Assuming you’re just getting an unbrined pork tenderloin (some commercial products already “juice up” their meat with an “up to X% solution,” which is essentially a brine), there’s a bunch of different ways to do it. Basically, it’s just salt and water and then maybe sugar and spices. There’s a decent recipe here.
His ratio works out to 2 TB of salt per cup of water. You can add an equal amount of brown sugar if you wish, plus any spices you feel like. At this salinity, I recommend brining no longer than 4 hours, as mentioned in the recipe. I find for something as small and thin as a tenderloin, even just 2 hours works fine. If I wanted to do it overnight, I’d halve the amount of salt.
I have made pulled pork about ten different ways in the last year but the best and most flavorful ends up being with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a can of Whole Foods 365 Dr. Pepper and some brown sugar. I believe I got it from the Pioneer Woman.