Pan-Seared Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

A few weeks ago, in time for Christmas, I put out a recipe for a rolled pork loin stuffed full of compound butter. I made very sure to draw a distinction between that cut of meat (the “pork loin”) and the “pork tenderloin.” Two loins exist (one on either side of the spine), but only one tenderloin. The tenderloin, is, effectively, the chateaubriand of a pig. (You normally buy the chateaubriand cut up into individual steaks or medallions, which we call “filet mignon” from cattle, but you can and absolutely should buy the whole muscle, which we call a “chateaubriand.”) While the loin recipe I shared several weeks ago was intended for far more people to eat at once and was far more expensive, this recipe can be a meal for one or two, it is much quicker, and it is much cheaper—perfect for a busy weeknight.

You’d be hard-pressed to ever find the loin pre-seasoned and pre-packaged, but it’s actually probably harder to find a tenderloin that isn’t seasoned than one that is. Most tenderloins on the market are going to come sealed in a plastic bag already marinating in some oil and spices. Don’t buy those if at all possible. Instead, look for just the tenderloin. Buying just the tenderloin allows you, the home cook, maximum control over as many parts of the culinary experience as possible. For this reason, in general (that is, not just with pork tenderloins but with any meat, fish, or poultry), my advice is to buy meat that has been handled as little as possible.

A tenderloin isn’t a very big piece of meat—they average about 20 ounces or so, a little more than a pound. That much meat (it’s quite lean and it’s boneless) feeds two people. Plan accordingly, and scale this recipe up or down based on how many people you need to feed. There generally is no way to scale this recipe up other than by buying more tenderloins—their size is relatively fixed in that range.
Tenderloin is quite lean and not as “porky” as some other cuts, so it benefits from marination overnight. I like building a standard marinade not unlike what I make for my signature dish: some kind of vinegar, mustard, and spices mixed together, and then olive oil drizzled in slowly at first (and then at an increasing rate as more oil is added) while whisking constantly. Add whatever you like to your marinade, being sure to season it well. Once the marinade has been prepared, place the pork into it and make sure all the pork’s surface has at least some contact with it. Close the container with an airtight lid and place it in a fridge overnight.

Coat the bottom of an oven-safe skillet in a thin film of oil on the day you want to cook the pork (which must be the day after marination started, so plan accordingly). Remove the pork from the marinade, but do not discard the marinade. Over medium heat, get that oil shimmering. Place the tenderloin in the oil. Allow the Maillard reaction to take place, creating a caramelized crust on the side of the tenderloin in contact with the pan. Wait for the tenderloin to release naturally from the pan. This will tell you the Maillard reaction has finished. If after this side you notice there was too much browning to quickly, lower the heat before flipping to another side. Repeat this process with every surface of the tenderloin, generally flipping a quarter-turn each time. Once the tenderloin has undergone a full revolution, check its temperature. If the internal temperature in the center is between 140 and 160 Fahrenheit, you’re done. If it isn’t, put the pork in the same pan in an oven preheated to 400 Fahrenheit until it reaches that temperature target zone. Where you pull it within the target zone is entirely your preference. Just know that pork will continue rising 5-10 degrees even off the stove or outside the oven, and pork cooked to an internal temperature any hotter than 145 is considered safe in the United States. (If you live in a part of the world where certain parasites are common, cook your pork all the way to 160 Fahrenheit just to be safe.)

When the pork reaches your desired temperature, remove it from the heat, take it out of the pan, and place it elsewhere to rest. There are probably some sticky, caramelized bits of pork crust stuck to the bottom of the pan. These bits form what is called a “fond.” (French viewers, I mean this in the sense of “sucs,” whereas you may use a “fond” – what we English-speakers call a “stock,” or another liquid—to perform this next step.) Deglaze this. That is, bring a cold liquid (water, wine, or stock) to the pan and stir, thereby loosening those bits from the pan and dissolving them into your deglazing liquid. Learn this procedure well. “Sear, finish, rest, deglaze, mount,” is a simple and effective procedure for cooking almost protein with a pan sauce, and thus it is very adaptable. Once the pan has been deglazed, reintroduce the marinade to the pan and, over medium heat stirring often so that nothing burns on the sides or bottom of the pan, reduce the liquid by half. This does several things: (1) it kills any bacteria in the marinade, (2) it concentrates the flavor of the marinade, and (3) it prevents the final texture of the pan sauce from being too loose. By the time the marinade has boiled down enough that its volume has reduced by half, it will be safe. Once this occurs, turn off the burner, and whisk in 3 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter. Check for seasoning, adjusting as necessary. Serve with vegetables and starches as desired.