Yum Peaceful Cooking: Pork Tenderloin....That's Hot!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Pork Tenderloin....That's Hot!


I know a lot of people out there don't eat pork. For whatever reason. I'm cool with that. One of my own daughters doesn't eat pork. She had wanted to become a vegetarian back when she was.....I dunno.....6th grade? I didn't want her to so we made a deal....I told her she could omit one meat group from her diet. Beef, Chicken, or Pork. The pig got the axe.

Whether you eat pork or not, do you realize how much it's still a part of your life in one way or another? I don't think there's another meat out there that is such a huge part of the english language. I mean, we have pork, pork chop, porker, porky, porky pig, pig, pigsty, piggy, pigpen, this little piggy, 3 little piggies, piggly wiggly, ham, ham hock, hamburger, hamming it up, bacon....(and for some reason, I have no idea why....but spankin' keeps coming to mind as a bacon slang. shhhh)


Anyways, you get the idea. In the food world, pork might not be the hottest topic, but I think its more versatile than any other meat group that I know of.

And that brings me to this delicious dish...Pork Tenderloin with Jalapeno Paste. It's been a family favorite for several years. As a matter of fact, when my daughter decided to go porkless, this was the one dish that she was sad about not getting to eat.

I found the recipe in Everyday Food and have only made a couple very minor changes. It's a "grill" recipe but...(ssshhhhh, don't tell Sir Sportsalot) I got tired of it coming out dry and charred. Bless his heart...I mean, he thinks he likes to BBQ, but he's not the type that's going to sit out there and work the grill. He looks at the clock...and runs inside the house to watch his sports and in 7 minutes will run back out to flip the meat. Meanwhile, how many flare-ups did he miss? Soooo, what's my point? I make this in the oven now.

 I start out with 1 pork tenderloin. The recipe calls for 2....but I like lots of Jalapeno Paste....I dunno..you be the judge.


For the Jalapeno Paste get out:

1/4 cup canola oil
4 garlic cloves
1 chopped jalapeno chile
1 teaspoon thyme savory
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cumin

I like the jarred "Nacho Jalapenos". Especially for this recipe. They seem to blend down really well and stick to the meat. Sooo....when you're dealing with pre-sliced jalapenos, how do know when you have enough to equal a whole?

Why......you stack 'em up and put it back together


Yep.....that looks like it's about the size of whole one, dontcha think?

In a food processor (and this is when I really really love my mini food processor) combine all your paste ingredients


and process until smooth......for about...I dunno...a minute?


The aroma is amazing!!

Preheat your oven to 400' F

I got out my heavy cast iron skillet and heated up a little oil in there. Covered the tenderloin with half of the paste and seared this little piggy in my very hot skillet.


The reason I'm using my skillet is because this baby is goin in the oven soon. But not yet...

Get it all nicely seared all around....then cover the top with the remaining jalapeno paste


Stick in a meat thermometer (if thats the way you roll) and plop this little fatty in your 400' oven for about 25 - 30 minutes, or until your thermometer reads 160'


Remove the meat to a warming platter, cover with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes

Take that skillet with all those juices in there....remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat..errrr, juice from the pan. Put over a medium heat, and add about 2 tablespoons of flour....stir. Continue stirring until it's well combined...about a minute or so....let the flour get good and brown. Pour in 2 cups of chicken broth while stirring and stirring and stirring some more, until you're gravy is made. If necessary, season with a little salt and pepper.


I didn't want to keep those little blackened bits in my gravy so I strained them out before I served it.

But look how nice and juicy this tenderloin is


Pour some gravy over it and enjoy with a nice side of stuffing and steamed asparagus.

And poor Jacquie didn't get any cuz this little piggy had none.

20 comments:

  1. I could never give up pork. And that right there is part of the reason why. I mean, I haven't made it yet, but I will. Because it looks frigging awesome.

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  2. I really hope this goes through!

    Your photo has my mouth watering! I love how juicy that is and the gravy looks fantastic! Maybe Steve WOULD eat this? The jalapenos might convince him. Is it really spicy????

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  3. This looks great, and seasoned and cooked perfect... In the BBQ world, pork is king. Anyone can cook a steak, a pork tenderloin like this takes talent!

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  4. I don't eat a lot of pork either; don't know why. I like it a lot. I asked my kids if they minded my making a pork roast for the holidays this year and they all said yes, they minded. That took care of that. They are mired in turkey tradition!
    This looks gorgeous...lean and moist. So often pork is dry. You did a great job!

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  5. Pork is my FAVORITE!!!!

    That looks amazing and will definitely be making it!!!

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  6. Pork is the Meat of Kings!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHVmtZFYaKo

    I'll try this one but I'm doing mine on the grill. (ironically, my grilled tenderloins normally go 7 minutes a side, so I laughed when you picked that number for how long Sportsalot ignores them)

    Great looking coating, lots of zing!

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  7. This looks amazing! I do a spicy mustard loin and also a port wine loin...so cheap and so easy, and best of all, so delicious!

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  8. I am slowly coming around to eating more pork but for some reason I LOVE a good pork roast. The flavors here sound amazing! Your first photo has my mouth watering.

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  9. I love to use pork tenderloin- it cooks up so nice. Your seasonings are such a nice blend, I'll bookmark this and give it a try!

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  10. Ha! This post made me snort with laughter! :D

    Your pork and your gravy both look heavenly!!

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  11. Bob...Thanks dude!!

    Michele - YEAH!!! you're comment went through LOL. It's only as spicy as you want it. Keep the seeds in the peppers for more heat, add red pepper if you want it even hotter. I remove the seeds cuz I'm a wimp...haha

    Dave - Well, maybe someday either Sir Sportsalot or I will gain some of that BBQ talent. until then, it's gonna stay in the oven LOL

    Barbara - LOL...ya, pork can't take the place of a good ole turkey and turkey may rule the holidays but that leaves the rest of the year for the pig

    Spryte - I can't wait to hear how you like it and what alterations you'll make for your families tastes :)

    Chris - How funny...cuz when I said 7 mins...I was pulling a number out of my....err.....hat. ya hat.

    Cyn - Oh I bet your spicy mustard is wonderful. hmmm....I'm gonna have to investigate that one.

    Bridgett - Thank you! and yes, pork roast is AWESOME!!! I just discovered it last year. We don't do a lot of pork and I'm clueless on what to do with it most of the time

    Cristie - I hope you enjoy it :)

    Ungourmet - It makes me smile when I find out someone actually laughs at my goofy humor. :)

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  12. You always make laugh, girl, I love your sense of humor.
    Men and the grill! Last summer I left my husband and a friend grill a pork tenderloin - they cut it through to check if it was done, and then cooked it until it was dry as a piece of wood.
    That looks gorgeous, and tenderloin is my favourite cut of pork meat, absolutely, any way you make it. But, still, it always comes second, after chicken, certainly not because it's less good.

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  13. People are always shocked when I tell them that pork is my meat of choice. Chicken just doesn't do it for me and I feel guilty eating beef because of the whole corn-fed thing (and I'm too poor to buy grass-fed). But pork? Pork is versatile. And delicious.

    This is a great way to prepare it! Love the spicy kick of jalapenos.

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  14. I love pork! It is The Other White Meat, after all ;) I use the same method when I cook mine - browned on the stove and finished in the oven. Perfect every time. Your recipe sounds wonderful.

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  15. I love me some pork, too! Bacon of course, but chops, roasts, saudages, whatever's clever! This one looks delicious!

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  16. MMMM Pork Tenderloin is the most heavenly of all meat products. Looks awesome! I would love several pieces right now... YUM!!!

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  17. Pork is the best! Pete tells me he doesn't like pork...except for bacon. Oh and that pork chop on the stick at the fair...wth? Why only that pork? So, I am left to share my pork products with my MIL. That's OK--more for me...Btw, your pork looks so juicy and (dare I say it?)moist!

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  18. I'm always on the lookout for pork tenderloin recipes. It's one of our very favorites. I'll have to give this a try.
    Sam

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  19. Jalapeno paste = yum!! This sound so good to me and I know we would love it!! Deelicious!!

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  20. Your picture is amazing and I'm so excited to try this dish since I have a pork tenderloin in the fridge. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!

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