Thursday, June 4, 2009

Oink! Oink!

This recipe for pork tenderloin should definitely be on my favorite's list. The only reason it's not is because I hadn't blogged about it yet. I would make it #31, but it really deserves a spot in the top 10. It really is that good, granted you don't over cook it.

I used to think that I didn't like pork tenderloin because the only kind I ever had was the pre-marinated, overly salty stuff from the supermarket. And even then, the only time I had it it was dry and tough. My mother in law (bless her heart!) made it this way. Rather than putting the whole loin in the oven or searing it, then roasting it, she'd cut it into medallions and pan saute it with onions and apples. I think her thought was good, but the execution was not. She ruined pork tenderloin for me.

Then one day while strolling through Costco (I love Costco!) I spotted pork tenderloin. There were 2 loins in a pack and they came bundled in 2 packs, so there were a total of 4 loins for around $12-$14. Not a bad price if you ask me. I wasn't sure how I wanted to flavor it, but I read the cooking directions on the package and planned to follow them. I looked in my pantry and in the refrigerator for ideas, I whisked a bunch of stuff in a bowl, poured it over the tenderloins and 45 minutes later, I swooned.

I wrote down the "recipe" from memory and have been making it this way ever since. Make it, you won't be disappointed. And the best part is, you don't have to marinate it, so you can make this when you get home from work or marinate it over night if you wish and pop it in the oven when you get home. Just don't forget to invite me over because I never get tired of this!

My Favorite Pork Tenderloin from Monica H
  • 1 pkg. pork tenderloins (2 tenderloins, about 2-2.5 lbs.)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 T. country dijon mustard (whole grain mustard)
  • 4 T. honey
  • 2 T. fresh orange juice
  • 1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary OR herbs de provence
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 3 T. olive oil

Yield: 1 cup of marinade.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Take tenderloins out of package. Rinse and pat dry. Place in a 9x13-inch Pyrex sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Take a paring knife and poke holes in the tenderloins (on the top side only) about an inch deep. Peel garlic cloves and quarter each clove of garlic-lengthwise. If they're really big, cut them a bit smaller- about the size of slivered almonds. Place the garlic slivers in each pocket. Set aside while making marinade.

In a measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the olive oil. Then slowly drizzle the olive oil while still whisking.

Pour the mixture over the tenderloins and put into preheated oven. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, basting once halfway through the baking process.

Once removed from the oven, allow the tenderloins to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing. Spoon the pan sauce over the tenderloin medallions and enjoy!

Stay tuned for a recipe using the pork tenderloin leftovers!

54 comments:

Lissaloo said...

Wonderful!! I love the pieces of garlic in this, we love pork tenderloin I can't wait to give this a try!! :)

unconfidentialcook said...

The orange juice makes it for me. We eat pork tenderloin frequently, so thanks for this--it sounds delicious!

Michel-lee said...

One word - superb :o)

Coleens Recipes said...

This tenderloin looks SO SO moist!! Your photos are perfect too. I just happen to have a pork tenderloin and hubby and I were just discussing how to fix it....SOLVED! Thanks for the recipe!

Donna-FFW said...

This looks incredible Monica. I cook tenderloin often and I will try this. The marinade sounds lovely.

Selba said...

This meal looks so delicious! It going to be a good choice for my lunch during this weekend :)

Kerstin said...

Cute post title :) I love Costco too, and we often get pork tenderloin there. I'm going to forward this recipe to my hubby - he's in charge of most of the meat in our house!

Carrie said...

This looks delicious! I love how you stuff the garlic into the tenderloin! Great idea!

Debbie said...

That looks absolutely delicious!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Monica pork is the only meat I willingly eat! This looks amazing! I can't wait to try!
~ingrid

Maria said...

My hubs will love this one. Great photos too!

Foodiewife said...

I love how you make such beautiful desserts. But, it's nice to see you post a dinner. Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite go-to dinners. It's so versatile. LOVE this version, so I've bookmarked this one. Garlic makes anything taste fabulous. Yummy!

Heather S-G said...

Drool!!!!! I love the garlic studs...and the sauce looks awesome...oh my gosh, it's been too long since I've had pork tenderloin. I will definitely try it this way next time :P

jaded said...

mmm..this looks super good. that is the secret to pork if you ask me, you have to get the actual pieces of garlic in the meat. you gotta see me make a pernil - you would think the pig, while alive, did something to me because i am just fighting to get the garlic in.

Sophie said...

I have a huge pork roast in the freezer that I bought b/c it was on sale, but didn't know what to do with it after :P. This would be delicious on it! Gonna try it!!

Sophie said...

Made this tonight for dinner, happy to report that we loved it! YUM! I used that roast and didn't have dijon so I just used mustard and added more honey to make it more dijony :D.

Traci said...

Yummmm - this recipe was incredible. very tasy.

Traci said...

Yummmm - this recipe was incredible. very tasy.

Anonymous said...

O.k. that's it, I am making this for supper TODAY! It looks so good and I love pork tenderloin...thanks for sharing this delish recipe!

Stacey
smusgrove@gmail.com

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Costco is my absolute favorite store! I really must give this recipe a try!

:)
ButterYum

care-in said...

I can't wait to try this. Do you think it would work just as well if I minced the garlic and put it in the marinade?

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Hey, Monica!
No leftovers.....everyone loved it and thought the "gravy" was great! I'm glad I didn't put it into the slow cooker. :)
~ingrid

Danielle said...

It's in the oven now and IT SMELLS AMAZING..SO SO GOOD! I can't wait to eat it!

Hennifer said...

Some friends and I made this last night and it was fabulous! Thank you!

I'm so jealous however as they were making lunch today at your suggestion, the cuban!

me? I'm eating salad and saltines with butter. Not quite the same lol

Anonymous said...

I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! Best pork tenderloin I've ever made! Looking forward to leftovers!

Anonymous said...

Made this for dinner last night - first time ever making pork tenderloin and it was so good. Love your blog!

Anonymous said...

I just made this last night and it was truly delicious! I can't wait to dig into the left overs, which I'm planning on using for the Cuban sandwiches!. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Anonymous said...

Great pork tenderloin recipe! Followed it exactly and it turned out perfect. Such better flavor than the pre-marinated pork loins. I didn't have any OJ but did have a couple oranges on the counter. Fresh squeezed orange juice!

Anonymous said...

I made this in the past and I am making it again for dinner tonight. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.

Anonymous said...

Well I want to just start by saying how happy I am to have found your blog! I was searching for a recipe for Pork Tenderloin, and luckily this one caught my interest. I made this for my family last night and everyone loved it.....even my 2 and 4 year olds! Thank you, I look forward to trying some more of your recipes!

Jillian said...

Question: not sure if you're going to see this in time or not - my package came with one 2.7 tenderloin - should I increase the bake time?

Anonymous said...

Made this a couple weeks ago. It was delicious. I shared the recipe with friends. I have another in the oven now...the first one I may have added to much olive oil..this time I measured to prep bowls and the marinade is a little thicker...can not wait for dinner! Wonder how it would taste with chicken breasts? Hmmmm

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Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it tonight and followed your recipe to a T...including the pyrex pan, and purchasing the pork tenderloin from Costco. :) It was amazing! I served it with homemade, whipped sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus...delicious! Thanks for sharing your wonderful creation. Definitely will be making this again!

Anonymous said...

Delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Will definitely be making this again and again. :)

Anonymous said...

without a doubt the best pork tenderloin I've ever had! I make this often for my family and everyone absolutely loves it!

Enter name here said...

So you don't recommend braising it off first in a frying pan?

Anonymous said...

Well I really liked the recipe. But I also love salty food. So less Soya and a little more orange juice will be my next attempt. I did marinate for 5 hours. So tender and moist. I also might add shallots, love lot's of favour. Thank you for the recipe.

CKH

Monica H said...

CKH- no need to marinate this. i'm thinking that's why it was salty for you. Next time just pour over and bake or decrease the soy like you said. Glad you liked it!

Anonymous said...

Great Dinner!!
I'm making this for the second time in one week! My husband and I both can't stop craving it! Love it! Thank you!
Heather

Madeline said...

Made it, Ate it, LOVED IT! Really is best pork tenderloin I've ever made or ever eaten! Thanks for sharing.

Troop 1480 said...

This is fabulous, made it several times now and it freezers and reheats nicely too. Works great for formal dinner with sides or on a sandwich with a little of the juices. I'm thinking of doubling the recipe to freeze some for a friend, thoughts?

Anonymous said...

I have 2 almost 3 pound pork tenderloins. I was wondering if I would need to use the same amount of ingredients as you posted in the recipe for that amount of meat and also would my cooking time be the same? I was also wanting to cook some of those little whole baby red potatoes in with the pork tenderloin. How would I go about doing that and how long does it take for the potatoes to cook considering their whole potatoes
Should I cover all of that if I put the potatoes in there? The recipe sounds delicious buy I was just making sure on the size of my tenderloins & if my ingredients were to be the same. Anyone have info on this? thank you TML

JME said...

I have read your blog for quite some time but just found and tried this recipe. SO DELICIOUS!! I let it marinate a few hours before cooking and it was so good!! Thank you.

Unknown said...

Oooh that looks YUMMY AND easy! Two of my favorite things!!! :)

Anonymous said...

I would like to make this dish for super bowl. How would it work out with a pork loin and making it ahead what would I do for juice the next day?

Monica H said...

You can make it with pork loin but the cooking times may vary. You'll have to take a chance with that since I've not made it with that cut of eat before. Also, you can make it the day before. Don't slice it, bring to room temperature then reheat it in the oven in the pan juices til warmed through.

Jenni B said...

Thank you for posting this recipe. I was looking for something that wouldn't take too long that I could make in the oven. Unfortunately, we didn't love the flavors. It did stay juicy though!

Anonymous said...

I added Tequila and margarita mix--delish! We served with rainbow quinoa and lemon pepper spaghetti squash.

Anonymous said...

I tried this recipe. It came out really great. It is a hit wirh my family and a very healthy and easy recipe.

Unknown said...

OMG. THANK YOU....THANK YOU..THANK YOU . TO DIE FOR!!!

Anonymous said...

This was amazing, the family loved it and so easy!

Anonymous said...

I made this last night - it was my first time making a pork tenderloin. It was SO EASY and DELICIOUS!!! The "sauce" you drizzle on top is amazing, and I love the chunks of garlic in the meat. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Is the T. a tablespoon or teaspoon?

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