Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce

My mother-in-law Judie made this for dinner once and I really liked it. Which kind of surprised me, because after years of being a vegetarian, the only other pork tenderloin I ever had was awful. After that, I just assumed it was pork tenderloin that sucked. Turns out it was just the recipe - or the chef - or maybe both (I won't mention any names). Now that I've had a few pork tenderloins, I think the biggest key to success is not drying it out. I found a method that claims to make the perfect pork tenderloin every time. So I used the marinade and sauce from this recipe, but I used the technique from the one below it. And I'll be damned if it wasn't the perfect pork tenderloin!

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

Serves 8

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup bourbon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 ½ to 3 lb. pork tenderloin

Sauce:
1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dry mustard (or to taste)

2 scallions, finely chopped 

1.      Mix marinade ingredients in a gallon size ziploc bag. Add pork and marinate for several hours, turning occasionally.

2.      Preheat oven to 325º F.

3.      Remove pork from marinade and bake in a roasting pan for 1 hour, basting occasionally with marinade.

4.      While the pork cooks, mix together the sauce ingredients until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.

5.      When ready, remove the pork from the oven. Let rest for 5 minutes; carve into thin slices and serve with sauce.

slightly adapted from Virginia Hospitality by the Junior League of Hampton Roads, Inc.

PERFECT PORK TENDERLOIN

1 boneless pork tenderloin (or boneless pork loin)

salt and pepper (or dry seasoning or marinade of choice)

1.      Determine the EXACT weight of roast from the meat wrapper. Weight will determine how long to cook the roast.

2.      Preheat oven to 500-550º F. Remove tenderloin from refrigerator. Season meat as desired. Place seasoned meat in an uncovered roasting pan.

3.      Bake EXACTLY 5 1/2 minutes PER POUND. Adjust +/- according to your oven's accuracy and heat retention. Turn oven OFF and DO NOT open oven door for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes to redistribute internal juices. Roast will be done, very slightly pink in the center, and very moist.

NOTES:

-        The success of this cooking method will depend upon how accurate the temperature of your oven is and how well your oven retains heat. Adjust cooking time +/- according your individual oven.

-        For anyone questioning this method of cooking, it really does reach the proper internal temperature on a thermometer. If you have an oven probe or a thermometer that has a wire that goes through the side of the oven door, by all means use it and set alarm for 140-145 º F. It should go off before the hour is up. After resting 5-10 minutes, the roast should reach 145-150º F. According to Sara Moulton on FoodTV, salmonella is killed at 138º F, and 145º F is a safe temperature for pork, although the USDA recommends 160º F. (meat will be drier).

-        Cooking time is the same if you’re cooking more than one pork tenderloin. Just make sure the tenderloins are NOT TOUCHING each other so they are each cooking in their own separate space.

VARIATION:

To make roasted vegetables along with the tenderloin, peel carrots and potatoes, and cut into about 1-inch cubes. Season as desired and drizzle with a little oil. Add vegetables to pan around (but NOT touching) pork tenderloin. Cook tenderloin as instructed above. The roasted potatoes and carrots should be done when the roast is done. You may need to adjust the size of the potatoes and carrots depending upon the weight of your tenderloin and how long you cook it.

from food.com (submitted by BeachGirl)

adding bourbon to marinade

marinade (putting the bag in a glass
helps hold it up if you're by yourself)

pork tenderloin marinating

raw, marinated pork tenderloin

I decided to put it on a rack, just
to make sure it would cook evenly.

roasted pork tenderloin

My pork tenderloin was small (just under a pound), so
I cooked it for only 5 minutes before turning the oven off.

The only drawback of using this cooking method
is you don't get to baste the pork with the marinade.

sliced pork tenderloin (juicy)

mixing the mustard sauce

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Honey Mustard Dressing

If you're out of salad dressing, there's a good chance you already have all these ingredients on hand. It makes you wonder...if a fresh, delicious honey mustard dressing is so simple, why do the leading brands each have like 20 ingredients? And I'm pretty sure a few of them don't even qualify as actual food. I also don't get why they have to add yellow #5 to make it brighter. Even if my pale yellow dressing was harder to spot on my salad, I could taste it was there.

HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

Yield: 3/4 cup

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Whisk everything together in a bowl. Store covered in the refrigerator.

from allrecipes.com by Mary Ann Benzon

mustard and mayonnaise

adding honey

lemon

whisking

honey mustard dressing

dressing the salad

salad dressed

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Ham and Cheddar Pretzel Bites with Jalapeño Mustard

These little pretzel bites are delicious and adorable. They make great hors d'oeuvres because kids and adults both love them and you can fill them with whatever you want. While I was rolling these, I was fantasizing about stuffing them with brie and raspberries. And even though the ham and cheddar was really good, I may have to do that one day, just to make that fantasy a reality. You've heard dream big or go home...I went home (and ate pretzel bites).

COUNTRY HAM AND CHEDDAR PRETZEL BITES WITH JALAPEÑO MUSTARD

Makes 4 dozen hors d’oeuvres or snacks

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar, divided

1/4 cup warm water (110-115º F)

1 cup warm milk (110-115º F)

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1/2 cup finely chopped country ham (3 oz; preferably Newsom’s or Benton’s), divided

1/3 cup finely chopped sharp cheddar cheese, divided

6 cups water

4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 to 2 tablespoons pretzel salt or coarse salt

Jalapeño Mustard:

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded fresh jalapeños

1 tablespoon mild honey

1.      Stir together yeast, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and warm water in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 to 8 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

2.      In a separate bowl, stir remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar into warm milk until dissolved.

3.      Add 2 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time, if necessary. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 hours.

4.      Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-inch-long rope. Flatten dough and arrange so a long side is nearest you, then roll out to a roughly 12- by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Gently press one fourth of ham and cheese into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope. Cut rope into 12 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan (leave about an inch between pieces, the dough will rise slightly). Repeat with remaining dough, ham, and cheese. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

5.      Preheat oven to 400º F. with rack in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

6.      Bring about 6 cups water to a boil in a 4- to 5-qt saucepan. Reduce heat and stir in baking soda. Cook pretzel bites in batches in gently simmering water, turning once, until slightly puffed, about 20 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to sheet pans.

7.      Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 15 minutes (cheese may ooze slightly).

8.      Meanwhile, stir together mustard, jalapeños, and honey (can be made 1 day ahead and chilled).

9.      Brush warm pretzel bites with butter and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Serve warm or at room temperature with jalapeño mustard for dipping.

Pretzels can be made 2 weeks ahead and frozen (once cooled). Thaw 30 minutes, then reheat in a 400° F. oven about 10 minutes.

from Gourmet, October 2009 by Edward Lee

yeast, brown sugar and water

foamy

adding brown sugar to milk

adding flour to yeast mixture

adding milk mixture to flour/yeast

dough mixed

dough rolled into a ball

setting aside the dough in a bowl to rise

jalapeño

dijon mustard, chopped jalapeño & honey

jalapeño mustard

dough - doubled in size

dough - separated into four parts

dough rope

rolled dough

ham

There was no country ham at the store,
so I went with a really good Italian ham.

spreading the ham and cheese

filling spread; ready to roll

rolling

rolled

cut into pieces

on sheetpan

a little puffier after resting for 30 minutes

about to drop in boiling water/baking soda

boiling & turning

removing with a slotted spoon

boiled on a sheetpan

baked

brushing with butter

I think the butter is added just so the salt will stick.
Next time I might try sprinkling the salt on before
baking and see if it sticks without the butter.

sprinkling with salt

I used the coarsest salt I had (fleur de sel).

dipping in jalapeño mustard

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