Alright, we need to talk about your pork. How many times have you ordered pork tenderloin, or brought one home to cook and ended up with a dry, bland, depressing meal? We are really sorry to report that it's happened to us on more than one occasion in both scenarios. Never again. Let's all resolve, from here on out, to eat better pork.
Pork tenderloin, like most other cuts on a pig, can be incredibly delicious, juicy and tender, as the name indicates. So what's getting in the way? Well, fat. Or lack thereof, really. The tenderloin is incredibly lean, which means that it goes from perfectly-cooked to over-cooked in a hot minute. But there are some things you can do to help safeguard against dry, depressing pork tenderloin recipes. (Of course, once you cook a pork tenderloin enough times, you'll know when it's perfectly done no matter how you cook it, but practice makes perfect, so we're giving you some cheat codes.)
Lard It
Get the Prosciutto Crusted Pork Tenderloin recipe from Food52.
Larding the tenderloin just means that you are either wrapping it or stuffing it with something that imparts the fat it needs to stay moist, like prosciutto, bacon, lardo, etc. Look, you're here to read about pork tenderloin, so don't act all surprised that we recommended more pork on your pork.
Medallionize It
By slicing the tenderloin before you cook it, you'll fraction the cooking time. For scallopini-thick slices, it will only take as long to cook through as it does to get a nice sear on each side.
Really, Really, Really Cook It
Get the Slow Cooker Paprika Pork over Parmesan Polenta recipe from Bev Cooks.
By which we mean slow cook it. Braise the hell out of it. Some people will tell you it's sacrilegious to do this to the filet mignon of pork. We say listen to your heart. Unless your heart says to buy a pre-marinated, packaged pork tenderloin. Don't do that. You have no idea how long it's been marinating in that package, and if you marinate a tenderloin for too long, it will be mushy when you cook it.
Check out our other favorite, non-boring ways to eat pork tenderloin in the slideshow below. Think vermouth sauce, citrus marinades and a Niçoise salad riff.