Pork Tenderloins (2)

I've had some success with braising pork tenderloins, but I wanted to roast them and I went looking for a way to roast them and still keep them moist. This was a knock-off on a recipe I saw Rachael Ray do a couple of years back but I never tried. I think she did hers with a pork loin roast, but I was looking for something for tenderloins, so I borrowed the approach of high heat and short cooking time. It roasted the outside well and the cook time was so short the inside didn't dry out. I tried this method, which worked very well.

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloins
• 1 tbs Fennel seeds
• 1 tbs rubbed Sage
• 1/2 tbs kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper

Directions:

• Grind the fennel seeds until a coarse powder
• Add the sage, salt, and white pepper and grind until well mixed
• Trim silver skin from the tenderloins
• Pre-heat oven to 500F and position a rack in the bottom of the oven
• Dry the tenderloins and rub with the spice mixture.
• Sit in a shallow roasting pan and place in the oven
• Cook for 10 minutes, turn over and rotate the pan and cook for another 8-10 minutes
• Aim for 150F-155F, then remove from the oven, place the tenderloins on a cutting board and cover with foil for about 10 minutes. The temp should rise to about 160F-165F.
• Slice in 3/8 inch slices and serve.

I did up some sauteed onions with a couple of cloves of chopped garlic tossed in for the last 30 seconds of cooking. I used a combination of butter and olive oil and browned the onions nicely. I served this on top of the pork and it helped keep the pork slices, more like medallions nice and hot and the buttery sauce from the onions went well with the pork.

The meat was nice and moist, and I did have an afterthought, but I didn't do it (this time). I thought afterward that the brown bits in the bottom of the roaster would make a good pan sauce. Add some stock, water, or white wine and deglaze the pan over a stove top burner. Reduce the liquid down and hit it with a pat of unsalted butter right at the end or maybe add the sauteed onions -- then season to taste and serve over the pork.

It went over quite well, even my graddaughter liked it -- and she is a picky eater. It worked well. I think oiling the surface of the meat and even letting it marinate with the dry rub on it might add to the taste. Well all that is for the next time.

Update: I was re-reading this post and realized that the idea of oiling the tenderloin is a bad idea. Oil + 500F = smoke! Since my objective is moisture, I think I will brine the tenderloins the next time and keep the surface dry. If anyone else has a good idea for roasting tenderloins and keeping them moist and tender, please pass it on. I was able to cut it with a fork, so this method was good, but I am always looking for more.

Pork Tenderloins

I've tried a number of ways to cook up pork tenderloin and to often for no reason at all, they dry out. I've monitored time and temperature close, but all to often I get a dry, sort of tasteless meat. So I finally hit on a foolproof way -- braising. But not a long braise. I have done this in a crock pot and it works, but that takes 6-8 hours. Recently I had two tenderloins in the fridge and nothing else readily available. But I wanted to cook it in less than 40 minutes. So I decided to try something, and it worked well.

Ingredients:

• 2 Pork Tenderloins
• 3 cups of water (Other liquids can be used, but the first time I did this I used water.
• 3 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 Medium Onion
• Salt and Pepper

Prep and Cook:

• Open the tenderloins and rinse, pat dry.
• Trim the silver skin from the tenderloins
• Season well with salt and pepper on each side
• Slice onion in about 1/4 inch thick slices. Break up and salt and pepper them.
• Mix the water and soy sauce.
• Sear in a frying pan with a little oil about 43 minutes per side. You are after a nice brown crust.
• Add the onion and water mixture and cover
  
• Braise for 30 minutes -- this is not a boil, but more a simmer so watch the heat.
• Cook to about 155-160 internal temperature.
• Let rest for 5 minutes.
• While it's resting reserve a 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and strain the cooked onions from the liquid.
• Put a little cooking liquid on the serving platter. This helps warm the platter and also provides a little juice for the meat.
• Slice against the grain in about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick slices. Fan on the serving platter.
• Cover with about a 1/4 cup of cooking liquid and the cooked onions.
• Serve and enjoy

The addition of the cooking liquid doesn't do much to keep the meat moist. If it's not moist when you slice it, it's too late. The danger is overcooking. While you are braising, if you cook it to 180 or higher, it's going to be dry. if you find it that high, you do have an alternative. I'll discuss that in a moment.

You can use other liquid. I have done this with Chicken Stock and Apple Juice and like it. I have also use a number of spice mixtures, but found I like to keep it simple and the taste of the pork stands out. I've also used sliced apples instead of the onion, but you won't have anything left to spoon over the meat, the apples tend to break way down. What works well there it to reduce the cooking liquid into a pan sauce while the meat is resting. A little added butter and it's silky and smooth.

If you do find the braise heated the meat to 180 or over, you can save it, but it's not going to be quick. Take the pan and put it in a 225-250 degree oven. Let it continue to braise for about 90 minutes. The temperature of the meat actually goes above 200 and the meat shreds nice. It is a little dry, but it will taste well. Because this time while the meat is resting in a little of the braising liquid. Take the rest of the liquid and add chili powder (3 Tbs), Worcester Sauce (1 tsp), brown sugar (2 Tbs), garlic (1/2 tsp), powdered mustard (1/4 tsp) and whisk in while the liquid is reducing by about half. Yes, what you are making it a BBQ sauce. Shred the meat and put it back in the sauce. It sounds weird because a picnic shoulder would do this much better. But remember you are trying to save a dry tenderloin and this way works fairly well.

Santa must like to eat! (Chili Verde)

Let's see, Santa brings my wife, among other things, a new computer and a Blue-Ray DVD player. I get a new 9.5 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven and the full 10 years of America's Test Kitchen Cookbook. Around here, that's pretty normal. One year I got a wok and she got a CD player. So in my opinion, Santa must like to eat because I have new toys to play with in the kitchen! Chili Verde, here I come! Anyone have a great recipe?

Now before you start digging, I prefer the spicy New Mexico style of chili verde, at least I think I was in Albuquerque. We were traveling so much it might have been Tucson. No, I think it was Albuquerque. I am pretty sure that in New Mexico when asked if you want green or red, green is spicier than the red. in Arizona it was the opposite. Luckily I like spicy so when I got them confused I wasn't disappointed because while the red wasn't as spicy -- it was delicious. Now the poor Major I was traveling with . . . well let's just say he will never forget which is which!

So seriously, anyone have a really good recipe for spicy New Mexico-style Chili Verde? Here is a recipe I am thinking of scaling up, in volume and maybe in heat. I got it from the Food Channel, courtesy of Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger! Yea, the 'Too Hot Tamales' themselves!

Ingredients

• 4 pounds pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 yellow onions
  
• 2 green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2-3 jalapenos, seeds removed, and finely chopped
  
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, roasted, peeled and chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed and soaked in a scant amount of water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock

Directions

• Season the pork meat generously with salt and pepper, lightly flour.
  
• Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat and brown pork chunks well in small batches, on all sides.
  
• Lift pork out of pan and place in a wide soup pot.
  
• Discard fat and place the onions and peppers in the same skillet and sweat over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add all of the chiles and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.
• Add the Sauteed vegetables, chopped tomatillos, dried herbs and cilantro to the meat, cover with the chicken stock and bring up to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer.
  
• Cook for 2-3 hours uncovered or until the pork is fork tender.