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Pork Tenderloin


cjsadler

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Got to witness something pretty interesting at a cooking demo last night. The chef stuffed pork tenderloin with chicken sausage and then cooked it to only medium-rare. The pork was not just slightly pink-- it was red. People were aghast, but the chef said that trichinosis has been eradicted for 30 years now (at least in USDA certified pork), but cookbooks still tell you to cook it almost well done (way overcooked in his opinion). He even ate some raw tenderloin to quell people's fears! And as the owner of the cooking school, he said he certainly wouldn't be serving you something that would make you sick since he would be liable. Maybe this isn't news to others, but I found all this surprising, and that pork was sooooo delicious. It was like you've been only eating well done steak and just got a taste of a medium one. I've never seen pork served like that in a restaurant-- maybe because people would be too freaked out?

Edited by cjsadler (log)

Chris Sadler

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On a past Good Eats episode Alton Brown said the same thing. Also got the same info from America's Test Kitchen. I can't stand overcooked pork chops. Medium-rare is soo much better. Especially with a big thick bone in chop. Now a days my biggest complaint about Pork is that it can be dry. Again both of the afforementioned shows brined their Chops before cooking.

Andy Szmidt

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I cook pork on the medium side when at home, but I've never had distinctly RED pork before. I guess some might be freaked out - too bad for them! :) I wish that more restaurants would ask me how I like my chops done...seems that then they could then accommodate both the adventurous and the squeamish...

Nikki Hershberger

An oyster met an oyster

And they were oysters two.

Two oysters met two oysters

And they were oysters too.

Four oysters met a pint of milk

And they were oyster stew.

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Was the chicken sausage pre-cooked?

If not, and the tenderloin was red in the middle the minced chicken would be raw. This would frighten me.

Martial.2,500 Years ago:

If pale beans bubble for you in a red earthenware pot, you can often decline the dinners of sumptuous hosts.

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The problem with pork in the past was perpetuated by the practice of slopping hogs with table scraps. This caused a perpetual re-infestation. Since the early 1070's, it has been illegal to feed in this fashion. Today's pork is incredibly safe. I have been eating and serving pork cooked to temperature for over 10 years. The acceptance of this is all in your clientelle base. It still won't go over well in the family diner but generally does well in upscale venues. :smile:

Tobin

It is all about respect; for the ingredient, for the process, for each other, for the profession.

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Was the chicken sausage pre-cooked?

If not, and the tenderloin was red in the middle the minced chicken would be raw. This would frighten me.

The chicken sausage was pre-cooked. Interesting technique-- poach the sausage, then freeze it (it was made from scratch, so tubes of the right size could be made to fit the tenderloin-- he just piped it out of a pastry bag onto saran wrap, rolled and tied it with butcher string at each end). Cut a slit through the center of the tenderloin with a boning knife, unwrap the frozen sausage and jam it in there. Let thaw and then you're ready to go.

Chris Sadler

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The usual internal temperature for pork is/was 160 degrees. I've had plenty of success with 140 degrees (as suggested by Cooks Illustrated). If you brine your pork before cooking, even way-overcooking it (180+) won't dry it out (been there, done that).

As for food safety in general, I'm always happy to be safe rather than sorry. Eating raw pork is disgusting. And I'm not a fanatic, but even in these United States, things can go wrong...need I say bovine spongiform encephalopathy?? Thank goodness we can still eat our beef on the bone! Last time I was in London, you couldn't find a standing rib roast anywhere...but that was at the height of the scare.

And don't bring up sealing jelly jars with parafin without a water bath.... :raz:

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I cook pork tenderloin to medium doneness usually, and have never had it less done than that to my memory. It's still tender and juicy at medium. I'm quite curious now, especially since the same head of the same cooking school (which is my alma mater) never served my class rare pork tenderloin.

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Just because it's safe don't make it right...

Overcooked lean cuts of pork are an abomination, but I don't think there is any value in cooking pork rare, apart from the fact if you served it in a restaurant probably 50% of the customers would send it back I don't think it will be in any way improved by cooking it rare.

Perhaps it's just me, I don't like lamb too underdone, or most game (Pink yes, but not truly rare).

Save it for the beef...

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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Perhaps it's just me, I don't like lamb too underdone, or most game (Pink yes, but not truly rare).

Save it for the beef...

not just you, I'm the same, duck also (crispy skin + rendered fat being one of the main reasons for duck, in my opinion). Beef as rare as you can get it (this from someone who, aged seven, when my mother would prepare thinly-sliced strips of fillet for fondue chinoise, would eat them raw, just dipped in soy sauce). But pink lamb is too flabby, and raw game is just scary. Rare pork I would try - not sure about actually red - mind you, if you look at MobyP's discussion of his restricted diet thread, I'm not sure how red pork would actually be??

Fi

Fi Kirkpatrick

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I've had really rare (RED) pork before due to a combination of accidental undercooking and laziness. I wasn't and am not worried about safety, but I do think rare pork is indeed a touch flabby.

I wonder, though, how much of my prediliction for firmer-textured pork is a product of what I'm used to. I grew up thinking pork ought to be medium (pink-ish), and (envelope-pusher that I am) I tend to cook it slightly pinker than my mother would, but much rarer than that just seems... underdone.

A jumped-up pantry boy who never knew his place.

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  • 2 years later...

The wife just informed me that she is thawing a package of 4 full sized pork tenderloins and wants me to do something extra special with them for our NY's dinner. Usually I marinate 1 or 2 in an oriental style marinade (fresh garlic, lots of fresh ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, S&P, olive oil, and sometimes some rice wine vinegar) and roast them on a rack in the oven.

I was kind of thinking what would happen if I tied them together like four logs, maybe with some stuffing in the middle, but am looking for really outstanding ideas from all of you.

Thanks!

doc

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The wife just informed me that she is thawing a package of 4 full sized pork tenderloins and wants me to do something extra special with them for our NY's dinner.  Usually I marinate 1 or 2 in an oriental style marinade (fresh garlic, lots of fresh ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, S&P, olive oil, and sometimes some rice wine vinegar) and roast them on a rack in the oven.

I was kind of thinking what would happen if I tied them together like four logs, maybe with some stuffing in the middle, but am looking for really outstanding ideas from all of you.

Thanks!

doc

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I just made something for Xmas that went over really well.. Take ground pork and cook it with fennel,garlic, onions and fennel seeds.. I might even pour a little sambuca in the pan.. Then stuff in the pork tenderloin.. Cooked with onions and wine..

The other day I also stuffed greens and age provolone into a tenderloin which worked out well.. Cooked with wine. I only had canned turnip greens in the house but, a nice brocolli rabe would have been better.. Sauted first with garlic, prosciutto, oil and doused with red pepper flakes, then rolled up.. Sounds great to me..

What if you stuffed your oriental pork with fried rice.. Might be interesting..

Edited by Daniel (log)
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I'll just go ahead and post the recipe. This has always been a winner for me. I make a little more sauce because it's so good and people just pour it on.

MUSHROOM-STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

You can complement it with a spicy fruit salsa.

1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

1 cup canned beef broth

1/2 cup ruby Port

2 teaspoons minced garlic

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter

1/4 cup chopped shallots

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped leek (white and pale green parts only)

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloins (from center or thick end), trimmed, each cut crosswise in half

2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram or 2 1/2 teaspoons dried

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine both broths, Port and garlic in heavy small saucepan. Boil until sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until translucent, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and leek and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in cream. Cook mixture until vegetables are soft and most of cream is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Cool.

Insert handle of wooden spoon lengthwise into cut end of each tenderloin, forming 1/2- to 3/4-inch-diameter hole. Transfer mushroom mixture to pastry bag fitted with large plain tip. Force mixture into center of each tenderloin, filling hole completely. Rub tenderloins with marjoram. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add tenderloins to skillet and cook until brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer skillet to oven. Roast tenderloins until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from oven. Transfer tenderloins to platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Return skillet to stove. Whisk in sauce. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Remove from heat. Whisk in 4 tablespoons butter.

Cut tenderloins crosswise into slices. Arrange tenderloin slices and drizzle sauce over.

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My expertise is the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. Four pork tenderloins will yield easily 16 good size sandwiches. That is a lot of tenderloin for one meal fixed in any fashion.

Davydd

It is just an Anglicized Welsh spelling for David to celebrate my English/Welsh ancestry. The Welsh have no "v" in their alphabet or it would be spelled Dafydd.

I must warn you. My passion is the Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

Now blogging: Pork Tenderloin Sandwich Blog

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I'll just go ahead and post the recipe.  This has always been a winner for me.  I make a little more sauce because it's so good and people just pour it on.

MUSHROOM-STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

You can complement it with a spicy fruit salsa.

1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

1 cup canned beef broth

1/2 cup ruby Port

2 teaspoons minced garlic

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter

1/4 cup chopped shallots

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped leek (white and pale green parts only)

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloins (from center or thick end), trimmed, each cut crosswise in half

2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram or 2 1/2 teaspoons dried

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine both broths, Port and garlic in heavy small saucepan. Boil until sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until translucent, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and leek and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in cream. Cook mixture until vegetables are soft and most of cream is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Cool.

Insert handle of wooden spoon lengthwise into cut end of each tenderloin, forming 1/2- to 3/4-inch-diameter hole. Transfer mushroom mixture to pastry bag fitted with large plain tip. Force mixture into center of each tenderloin, filling hole completely. Rub tenderloins with marjoram. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add tenderloins to skillet and cook until brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer skillet to oven. Roast tenderloins until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from oven. Transfer tenderloins to platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Return skillet to stove. Whisk in sauce. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Remove from heat. Whisk in 4 tablespoons butter.

Cut tenderloins crosswise into slices. Arrange tenderloin slices  and drizzle sauce over.

Muchas gracias por su ayuda!~

Normally I hate to mess with anyone's recipe, but I've got a bunch of stuff that I need to use up. I just happen to have a large bag of fresh portabellas which I think might substitute ok for shitakes. I also happen to have a huge bag of shallots that need to be used up that I might just use as substitutes for the leeks. Do you think a nice Cabernet might work for the Port? I'm thinking maybe I can butterfly the tenderloins lengthwise, lay them long edge to long edge and spread the stuffing and roll it up like a roulade and tie it.

Do you have a recipe for the fruit salsa?

It was just about exactly 1 year ago that I was in Dorado (1st time in Puerto Rico!) :)

doc

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I just made something for Xmas that went over really well.. Take ground pork and cook it with fennel,garlic, onions and fennel seeds.. I might even pour a little sambuca in the pan.. Then stuff in the pork tenderloin..  Cooked with onions and wine.. 

What if you stuffed your oriental pork with fried rice.. Might be interesting..

Thanks, Daniel, I could grind up one of the tenderloins to obtain the ground pork, and I just happen to have a potted fennel plant that we brought in from outside for the winter sitting in the basement that probably has a nice bulb that I could use. Same thought about butterflying the remaining tenderloins and spread the stuffing and roll up in a roulade.

When you say "cooked with onions and wine" do you place the raw sliced onions and wine in the pan with the tenderloins and then cook away, or do you saute the onions, and then add the wine and tenderloins? Do you brown the stuffed tenderloin first?

We usually use our Zojirushi rice cooker with brown rice and whatever veggies need to be used up for our side dish. Makes nice lunches for the first week back to work after NY's!

Two good ideas to ponder on now!~ Maybe I'll make both yours and RosalindD's!!

Thanks,

doc

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Actually I have done all the stuffed loins etc and find a more basic recipe yields superior taste with much less work.

Put the loin in a braising pan

add sweet root vegetables and apples sections but not diced

add sherry level with the top of the loin

Mix mustard, honey and 1t allspice and brush it on to the top of the loin

cook @ 300 F until done

Never trust a skinny chef

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And if you are going ot bbq them, you might as well throw them in a brine now..

Well, its a little cold here in Minnesota for outdoor grilling, which I don't even own a grill anyways!

I have a small rotisserie grill for indoors, but it wouldn't hold 4 whole tenderloins at once.

I'm still pondering your recipe, Daniel, which you were kind enough to send me PM, and RosalindD's.

Thanks everyone for contributing to my question, and Happy New Year to one and all.

doc

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