It’s important to master three or four quick-fix dishes that become “fail-safe” dinner choices. These are the recipes when you need to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes, or when only favorite familiar foods will lower your stress.
You really can’t miss with pork tenderloin. It’s widely available, and though not cheap, the size of the cut, three quarters to 1 1/2 pounds, is appropriate for small families. The meat is tender and extremely lean.
It cooks quickly too. A 1-pound tenderloin takes about 30 minutes to roast at 425 degrees and even less time to cook broiled or braised.
The National Pork Board says a pork tenderloin is comparable in fat content to a boneless, skinless chicken breast. As with chicken, the trickiest part of cooking the pork tenderloin is not overcooking.
Easy to carve, the cylindrical pork tenderloin can simply be sliced crosswise, like a loaf of French bread. The round slices are often called “medallions.”
Cooks can either marinate or season a pork tenderloin with a dry rub. Both seasoning techniques work well, and in our testing of marinated vs. dry-rub seasoned, there was no distinguishable quality difference. The meat is mild-tasting and compatible with ethnic cuisine seasonings.
It is best to use an instant-read thermometer when cooking pork tenderloins. In preparing larger cuts, it’s a common practice to cook the pork to 150 degrees, then remove it from the heat. The residual heat in the meat will continue to rise and bring the finished temperature to the desired 160 degrees. This doesn’t work well with the pork tenderloin because it’s such a thin and small cut of meat.
Instead, cook the tenderloin to almost 160 degrees. Remove from oven, let the meat sit five minutes, then slice and serve. The five-minute sitting time will let the pork juices distribute through the tenderloin and make it uniformly moist.
Apple-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
This recipe from the National Pork Board makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat oven to 375 F. In small bowl, combine apple jelly, lemon juice and pumpkin pie spice; blend well. Spray roasting rack with nonstick cooking spray; place in shallow pan lined with foil.
Place pork tenderloin on prepared rack, brush with half of the apple jelly mixture. Roast at 375 F for 20-30 minutes or until meat thermometer registers nearly 160 F. Let stand 5 minutes.
Place apple slices on broiler pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray so the apples won’t stick; brush with remaining apple jelly mixture. Broil 5-6 inches from heat for about 5 minutes or until apple slices are tender. Slice pork tenderloin and serve with the apple slices.
Southwest Spiced Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
Southwest Rub (recipe follows)
Directions
Heat oven to 425 F. Season each tenderloin with 2 tablespoons Southwest Rub. Place tenderloins in shallow pan, not touching, and roast for 30 minutes, until internal temperature, measured by a meat or instant-read thermometer, is 160 F. Remove pork from oven. Slice 1 tenderloin to serve. (Reserve the other tenderloin, wrap and refrigerate for Spinach, Orange and Sweet Onion Salad With Roasted Pork Tenderloin; recipe follows).
Southwest Rub
Makes 3/4 cup.
Ingredients
Directions
In small bowl, stir together all ingredients until thoroughly blended.
