All Things Chill

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Cremini Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and Herbs served with Roasted Spring Onion Bulbs

Larger view here. Pork tenderloin is available at most supermarkets, but it’s really the quality of the meat that prohibits most people from cooking this tender and juicy cut of meat a second time. Because “today’s modern” pig is leaner than ever, pork tenderloin is often served dry and overcooked… pretty much CARDBOARD. *shudder* I hate eating dry pork. Hate hate hate.

So, what should you do? Go to a real butcher. A REAL ONE. Like with the paper hat and the super wholesome smile (lol just kidding). They will carry pork with FLAVOR and even tell you what to do with it when you’re clueless. Also, you can safeguard yourself from a horrible meal by stuffing the damn thing with delicious goodies inside. It thins the meat for faster cooking and gives you a bit more leeway when cooking your roast.

Before we begin, big ups to our landlords – I procured lemon thyme, sage, rosemary from their garden and some wild fennel fronds (sooo tasty) right outside our front door. I HEART FREE HERBS!!! Quick instructions follow:

Butterfly pork tenderloin in half. Pound out until 1/2” thin. Carefully spread your filling on top, starting one inch from the bottom. Roll from the top down and tie with kitchen string.

Here, you can place in plastic wrap and pull from the fridge when you’re ready to cook – I’d give it a few minutes on the counter to get relaxed when it hits the hot pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 rounds of canola oil and preheat as well. Place the pork tenderloins on the pan and dance to the wonderful sound of “the sizzle” and don’t (OMG DON’T) touch it until you see a golden brown color creeping up the sides. Repeat for the rest of the sides and throw in the oven 20- 25 minutes. Pull out of the oven, let it rest for at least 20 minutes on a cutting board and slice evenly.

Serve with roasted onions, garnish ‘em with an herb of your choice (I used wild fennel fronds), make a quick pan sauce (add shallots & white wine, scrape the stuck bits and a whisk in a bit of butter off heat) and plate carefully (PRETTY ROCKS HELP TOO LOL JOKES).

I’ve NEVER liked those Hormel tenderloins you find at Safeway. Like I said, FIND A REAL BUTCHER AND GET TO KNOW THEIR NAME. If you eat meat, chances are you’ll eat meat 40 years from now – might as well start eating the right stuff right away, right? RIGHT? As always, let me know if you have questions!

WHEEE PORK TENDERLOINZ.

~Spec

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 9:33 pm and is filed under Cooking Culture, Cuisine, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.