# Pork Tenderloin Ideas



## ptolemy (Mar 13, 2012)

I just scored 'some' tenderloins and need to figure out what to do with them for the next several month. If you have some ideas, please share. Simpler the better 

Oh, and pictures:


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## DeepCSweede (Mar 13, 2012)

*German Rollbraten / Schwienbraten *

I haven't made this in a while and I usually use one third of a loin and cut into 3/4" chops vs tenderloin but this would work well with a whole tenderloin I am sure.

4 ounces paprika (If you use hot paprika, omit some of the black pepper. I like the smoked Spanish paprika, but sweet is ok too) 
1 ounce salt 
1 ounce black pepper 
1 tablespoon onion powder 
1 tablespoon garlic powder 
¼ cup fresh parsley , chopped 
1 teaspoon dried sage 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 large onion , sliced 
1/3 of a pork loin ,cut 1/2-3/4" thick 
Directions:
1Mix all spices and onion in a ziploc bag.
2Generously oil both sides of meat, and place in bag.
3Zip up bag, shake around to coat chops well. Remove excess air from bag, reseal and place in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. *Note three days is a must - for the best flavor more*
4Every day, gently knead bag to mix up spices a little.
5After 3-5 days, remove meat from bag, discard bag containing spices, and onion.
6Cook chops/meat on the grill and serve on buttered hard rolls.
7The spice amounts may seem excessive, but they are correct. When you remove them from the bag, they are messy. The spices stick pretty thick to the meat. That's ok, grill them like this and if you like, you can scrap a little seasoning off after grilling.

I like to cook up some onions in butter / bacon grease and add some of the above spice mix to that also and serve that on the roll with the meat.


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## Lucretia (Mar 13, 2012)

I've never measured the ingredients for this--I generally add the marinade ingredients to the bag and adjust to taste before I start on the pork.

Put about a teaspoon or so of powdered ginger and similar amt of garlic powder in a small bowl, cover with a about a Tbsp or so of water, sit aside to hydrate for five or ten minutes. 

Put ~ 1/4 cup soy sauce, a tsp or so of sesame oil, a tsp or so of chili oil, a couple tsp sugar, and around 1/2 tsp of five spice powder into a gallon ziploc bag. Add the ginger and garlic, a lot of freshly ground black pepper--probably a couple tsp or more, and shake well.

Clean up the pork tenderloin and add it to the bag, shake it to cover with marinade, and stick in the the refrigerator, turning occasionally. I usually fix mine in the morning and let it marinate all day--probably want to go at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, remove the pork from the marinade, and roast it until the internal temperature is 145 degrees--about 20 or 30 minutes. After 15 minutes of baking, brush the tenderloin with a little more chili oil. If you want it to be prettier and have a little more flavor, you can quickly sear it in a little oil before it goes in the oven, but it's not bad just stuck in the oven, and there's less cleanup.

Good with stir fry veggies.


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## apicius9 (Mar 13, 2012)

DeepCSweede said:


> *German Rollbraten / Schwienbraten *



Recipe sounds good, I would just be worried that the spices will be burning too much and get bitter? I hope you don't mind a small edit: It should be 'Schweinebraten' (or 'Schweinsbraten' if you are from Bavaria) and usually is a larger piece of pork roast. 'Rollbraten' means it's rolled up, in most cases a piece from the neck or shoulder (often also just the loin piece but that has a tendency to get dry...) that is seasoned similarly and then rolled up and bound with thread or a special net into a roast. Best way to cook it is on a rotisserie grill IMHO.

Last time I made pork loin I seasoned with pepper & salt, smeared with a bit of Dijon mustard, sprinkled some thyme on it and wrapped it in prosciutto. Quick sear on all sides in the pan and then leave it in the oven for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with whatever you like, I had some cava open that worked just fine... Another one I remember was a strange filling, basically stuffing some leftovers into the tenderloin and rolling it up: I had some browned chorizo that I sauteed briefly with onions, added a few herbs and a few spoons of leftover mashed potatoes to bind it all together. Cut the tenderloins open flat, spread the filling on it and rolled it up, pan-seared and let it finish in the oven. 

Stefan


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## DeepCSweede (Mar 13, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> Recipe sounds good, I would just be worried that the spices will be burning too much and get bitter? I hope you don't mind a small edit: It should be 'Schweinebraten' (or 'Schweinsbraten' if you are from Bavaria) and usually is a larger piece of pork roast. 'Rollbraten' means it's rolled up, in most cases a piece from the neck or shoulder (often also just the loin piece but that has a tendency to get dry...) that is seasoned similarly and then rolled up and bound with thread or a special net into a roast. Best way to cook it is on a rotisserie grill IMHO.
> 
> Last time I made pork loin I seasoned with pepper & salt, smeared with a bit of Dijon mustard, sprinkled some thyme on it and wrapped it in prosciutto. Quick sear on all sides in the pan and then leave it in the oven for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with whatever you like, I had some cava open that worked just fine... Another one I remember was a strange filling, basically stuffing some leftovers into the tenderloin and rolling it up: I had some browned chorizo that I sauteed briefly with onions, added a few herbs and a few spoons of leftover mashed potatoes to bind it all together. Cut the tenderloins open flat, spread the filling on it and rolled it up, pan-seared and let it finish in the oven.
> 
> Stefan


Stefan,
Sorry for any misspelling - I do have 25% german background and that side of me definitely picked up a great love for german cuisine and beer. I was using the local Milwaukee Germanic - The "Rollbraten" is the local name for pork loin cooked this way and served at the local german / oktoberfests, but my understanding is that the recipe originated in the Alps region of Bavaria. I generally cook it on medium direct heat, the marinade oil gets pretty thick and does stick to the meat but I haven't had any issues with the spices burning or getting bitter. I'm sure you could very easily rub the spices off of it before throwing it on the grill.

Your recipe sounds fantastic also.


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## tkern (Mar 13, 2012)

Butterfly the loins. 
Lightly sweat minced garlic and shallots. Cool down. Add parsley, marjoram, thyme leaves, little bit of basil. 
Fill loins. Roll up loins in Speck. Tie closed w/ butchers twine. Every 3/4" to 1".
Get a saute pan hot, sear w/ blended oil or grapeseed oil. Turn down heat at bit and keep piggy moving. Near the end throw in a knob of butter, a sprig of thyme, and a crushed garlic clove and baste.

If you have a grinder, grind up some pork, add salt, the above ingredients or any other sausage ingredients you like and stuff loin with that. 

Pork tenderloin stuffed w/ sausage, wrapped in speck.




EDIT: Stefan, didnt see your stuffed loin post before I posted mine. Yup, sausage deliciousness


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## apicius9 (Mar 13, 2012)

That's what you should get when you order Schweinsbraten in Bavaria. 

Here is another one for the tenderloins: Cut in 1" medallions, season and quickly sear on both sides, set them aside. Saute some shallots in the same pan, add some morel mushrooms for a few minutes, deglaze with some sherry (I like an amontillado for this), add cream (and a bit of stock if you must  ), cook until mushrooms are done (i.e. a bit longer if they were dried), add the pork back in and let it just warm through for a few minutes in the sauce. You can add some parsley if you like, serve with noodles.

Stefan


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## DeepCSweede (Mar 13, 2012)

This one is my favorite:

1 cardboard box
4 small blocks of dry ice or freezer cold packs
4 tenderloins
1 Address for DeepCSweede
1 Round of postage

Combine all cold ingredients, add the address and postage and drop in mail. Photos of the results will follow.


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## PierreRodrigue (Mar 13, 2012)

LOL! Hell I got the same recipe around here somewhere!


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## Seth (Mar 13, 2012)

Fake North Carolina BBQ. Brown and braise with lots of carrots onions garlic, whatever. Remove pork, strain, add pork back, braise till falling apart. Primary flavor for NC BBQ is vinegar and some heat. Get pseudo smoke from chipolte (remove seeds) or a small touch of cumin or smoke salt. No bbq or tomato sauce in this. Serve on great rolls with cole slaw. I am going to get sooo flamed for this.......


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## cnochef (Mar 13, 2012)

I posted this in another thread but I love pan-seared medallions of pork tenderloin, deglaze pan with white wine, add apricot jam and hot pepper jelly. Serve with fingerling potatoes and your favourite veg.


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## rahimlee54 (Mar 13, 2012)

Dont really eat to much tenderloin, but last one I did was salt pepper rosemary stuffed with figs. Not bad if you like figs. Reduce the pan drippings with wine of choice and enjoy. Wife loved it and I liked it. I prefer ribs and pulled pork on the smoker .


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## stevenStefano (Mar 13, 2012)

This is what I like to do with it. Cut the pork into medallions and fry it a little to get a little colour and remove it from the pan. Add a sliced onion and a couple of big eating apples cut into wedges and brown them with more butter. Then add a big bottle of cider and let it reduce down quite a lot, add the pork back in with some double cream and let it thicken. I just eat it with mashed potatoes, it is very simple but nice


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## jmforge (Mar 13, 2012)

The one good (?) thing about modern "other white meat" industrial pork tenderloin is that it is like chicken ****, tofu or cardboard. It will take on the flavor of whatever you beat it with, but with a more pleasing texture than tofu or cardboard and not quite as dry as chicken ****. :rofl2:


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## tgraypots (Mar 13, 2012)

baste frequently with lizano salsa while slow cooking on the grill.


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## dragonlord (Mar 14, 2012)

Pork paper with a garlic, anchovie, parmasan, and lemon dressing served on fresh baby spinach


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## ptolemy (Mar 16, 2012)

ok I did some tenderloins last night, Did it 2 ways: 1 marinaded and then grilled on high for few min and other marinaded then dried and rolled into crumbs and fried. Then sliced both. 
My issue is, it cooks to quickly so I don't want to overcook it. Anyone has any ideas how long it takes for perf cook on a cast iron grill sitting on a gas stove>?

thanks


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## Andrew H (Mar 16, 2012)

It shouldn't take very long, 3-4 minutes per side then a 15 minute rest.


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## SpikeC (Mar 16, 2012)

Termapen is your friend!


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## quantumcloud509 (Mar 16, 2012)

Oh man, ill post my fav recipe later as i am in between jobs right now. It has fish sauce in it and you super slow cook/ smoke the tenderloin medallions over alderwood. Came up with it while i was in alaska fishing for copper river salmon. Goes great with skin on garlic mashed potatoes.


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## mhlee (Mar 16, 2012)

If you're worried about overcooking it and it drying out, brine it. I've liquid brined pork successfully a few times, dry brine only a few times. 

I'm just speculating, but because most pork is already pre-injected with solution, dry brines tend to cause the meat to release a LOT of liquid initially. Only after letting it dry brine for at least 24 hours, does it seem to matter. I've tried this with both pork loins and pork butts.

Personally, I'd turn them into tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork cutlets). Cut the tenderloin into about one inch medallions, pound them to a thinness of about 1/2 inch, salt and pepper both sides, dredge in flour, egg wash, and panko and fry them in vegetable oil (NOT canola), for about 3-4 minutes each side, until golden brown, then serve cut into 1 inch pieces with very thinly sliced green cabbage, tonkatsu sauce (I prefer Ikari or Bulldog) and hot rice or put it between two slices of fluffy warmed white bread.


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## Andrew H (Mar 16, 2012)

mhlee said:


> If you're worried about overcooking it and it drying out, brine it. I've liquid brined pork successfully a few times, dry brine only a few times.
> 
> I'm just speculating, but because most pork is already pre-injected with solution, dry brines tend to cause the meat to release a LOT of liquid initially. Only after letting it dry brine for at least 24 hours, does it seem to matter. I've tried this with both pork loins and pork butts.
> 
> Personally, I'd turn them into tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork cutlets). Cut the tenderloin into about one inch medallions, pound them to a thinness of about 1/2 inch, salt and pepper both sides, dredge in flour, egg wash, and panko and fry them in vegetable oil (NOT canola), for about 3-4 minutes each side, until golden brown, then serve cut into 1 inch pieces with very thinly sliced green cabbage, tonkatsu sauce (I prefer Ikari or Bulldog) and hot rice or put it between two slices of fluffy warmed white bread.



Why don't you use canola?


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## mhlee (Mar 16, 2012)

Canola gets this weird funk when frying. It's not as noticeable in small amounts, but when you use a lot, you'll notice it. Some people describe it as "fishy." 

I don't really think it's fishy smelling, but it's noticeable and unappetizing in my opinion. In my experience, it also leaves a more heavy mouthfeel.


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## Andrew H (Mar 16, 2012)

mhlee said:


> Canola gets this weird funk when frying. It's not as noticeable in small amounts, but when you use a lot, you'll notice it. Some people describe it as "fishy."
> 
> I don't really think it's fishy smelling, but it's noticeable and unappetizing in my opinion. In my experience, it also leaves a more heavy mouthfeel.



I use it for pan frying (1/8") quite a bit and have never noticed that. From a quick search on chowhound it seems like some people taste the 'fishiness' and others don't.


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## ptolemy (Mar 18, 2012)

Ok so, I did some tests this week. I never really cooked alot of tenderloin before so I was curious to see it. I cooked it in several different ways:

1. I cut it into cutlets, then flour, egg and crumbs and fried it. It ended up being nice but I think not the best. The issue is with thickness, I think these have to be 1/2 inch thick to get crispy outside and stay tender inside and that's not a cutlet then.
2. I cubed it and fried on highest heat possible for about 5 min until it became golden brown. Took off, added onions garlic and carrots. Cooked until onions became golden brown, added sour cream,. peppercorns, and thyme, brought to simmer, added porn, cooked another 5min. The result was as before. It tasted good and such but meat felt slightly overcooked and kinda underwhelming.
3. I used 3 different bbq sauces and marinaded it for about an hour each, then grilled on high heat for 2 min per side to get char/marks and then finished in oven. Since I was not certain on the temperature and many says it starts from 145f to 155f and then rest period, I cooked each of the 3 to 145, 150, 155f. First bbq sauce was bull's eye,. 2nd was more runnier, spicier, and acidic, and 3rd was spicy korean bbq sauce made form apple and peaches. Once I let all 3 rest, I cut into it and at 145f was still little pink in the middle and I wasn't a fan, at 150f was perfect but it was smallest of the 3 and the one at 155f was best over all. So, I think I like my tenderloin at about 153f + rest.
4. I also did a dry run from 5 different peppercorn spices including white, green, black and all spice berries + salt
5. Same as four except I added orange juice. 

4 and 5 were let marinade for about an hour and then same as before, grilled for marks/char and finished in oven to 153f + rest. 

Overall, cooking it whole is the best. I think as far as marinade and flavor combo it's up to each person but key is to cook it whole to proper temperature and then let it rest. I also cut mine into about inch thick pieces, since I found it to be the ideal thickness. 

This week I am going to try some of the more elaborate stuff like stuffing it and perhaps even grinding it to make some made burgers if I can get a grinder somewhere.

Biggest issue encountered was the cleanup. My bbq grill sits on a stove, so once I got it hot enough, even when oiled (it's new, so It's not seasoned over the years), the bbq mixture would stick like crazy. I let it sit hoping it would unstick, but no 

As for sides I have made fried rice, roasted potatoes and just used baguettes to crate a sandwich out of it. All came out nicely.


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## SpikeC (Mar 18, 2012)

I did one butterflied and stuffed with a sautéed mixture of onion apple and rosemary. Seared in a hot iron pan on each side then finished in the oven to 140º. Pretty simple butt very good!


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## VoodooMajik (Mar 18, 2012)

I Just cooked pork tenderloin last night  
Rubbed the inside with Salt, Pepper, Cayenne, thyme and olive oil. and Stuffed it with some chantrelle and porcini. 
Rolled the sucker up and tied it with the thyme stocks
Rubbed the top with Smoked Salt, Kosher Salt, Pepper and Cayenne
Little bit of Spanish White in the bottom of the roasting pan with a couple chipotle
cooked it at 300 till it hit 120 then pumped it up to 400 after a quick bast with the wine and fats to brown up the top.


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## SpikeC (Mar 18, 2012)

And????


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## VoodooMajik (Mar 19, 2012)

Wait till it's sitting @ 145 to rest for a few, slice 'er up.

Sooo Good. Gonna be my lunch today on some bread I baked last night


**Shallots, There is Shallots and garlic inside as well.**


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## VoodooMajik (Mar 19, 2012)




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