Whenever my wife is cooking pork tenderloin, I always know that it is going to be tough. It is going to be dry and also stringy. What is up with that? And how can I stop it?
First off, the pork tenderloin is just about the most lean cuts of meat that we can have; some people call it the boneless, skinless chicken breast …. but the other white meat. you know what I mean.
When you go to the store, they are usually packaged two to a pack. Now that is a good thing because if it is just you and your wife, you can always wrap one up and freeze if for another day. But if you have kids, or company over, then you will probably have to fix both of them.
You can improve the flavor when cooking pork tenderloin by marinating it overnight in the fridge. Even just a few hours will help it if that is all the time that you have.
Just to be brief here and not go into do-it-yourself marinades, try a good Italian dressing and marinate your pork tenderloin in that overnight. When you pull it out the next day, wipe it down dry. Add a touch of salt and pepper to it. Now you are ready to go. Heat your oven up to 350 degrees F.
Get out your pancake pan, a skillet, anything that the pork will fit into nicely. Turn the heat up high, high.
No, that was not a misprint. You want the heat pretty high because you are going to brown all the sides of the pork tenderloin on the top of the stove.
OK, so you are browning and turning and browning all the sides of the pork tenderloin. Remember, just browning, you are not going to cook this baby all the way through on top of the stove.
When it brown on all sides, then place in a roasting pan and place in the pre-heated oven for about 18-25 min. This will finish up the pork tenderloin in the oven for you.
What you are looking for when cooking pork tenderloin temperature wise is about 157 degree f. and then you can take it out of the oven. If you like it just a little bit more medium rare, then pull it out at 150. Cover it loosely with aluminum foil for about 15 min. and then you will be ready to eat it after that.
Here are some misc. facts and tips about cooking pork tenderloin, etc.
There are five main cuts of pork:
* Leg (ham, cutlets, boneless roast)
* Side (spareribs, bacon)
* Loin (rib roast, sirloin roast, rib chop, loin chop, country style ribs, tenderloin, and Canadian-style bacon)
* Shoulder Butt (blade roast, ground pork, sausage)
* Picnic Shoulder (smoked hocks, picnic roast)
Here are some tips for using pork:
* wash your hand thoroughly after you tough the raw pork. This will prevent contamination.
* pork is like chicken; it should be cooked fully before serving.
Just by simply not overcooking it will cause it to remain juicy and filled with lots of flavor, especially if you have marinated it overnight.