Do Not Underestimate Pork Tenderloin
It’s just as lean as chicken breast, but far tastier
Pork tenderloin is a journeyman cut of meat with a reputation for being utilitarian and convenient, but not particularly indulgent. It doesn’t help that there are so many bad pre-marinated pork tenderloins out there, sullying its good name. (It also doesn’t help that, until fairly recently, overcooking pork was common practice.)
I think it’s vastly underrated.
It may not have the sexy marbling of a pork shoulder or the visceral appeal of a bone-in chop, but it’s quick to cook and comes out tender every single time. Whenever I make our Paprika-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin, I’m able to cut it with a fork.
It’s just as protein-packed and lean as a chicken breast, but requires far less of you — less seasoning, less babying, less fuss. Its flavor is subtle but meaty. And while it’s not the cheapest cut of pork, it’s still quite cost-effective, more so than beef or even boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
It’s also shockingly versatile. Craving a salty-sweet weeknight stir-fry? Pork tenderloin is there for you. In the mood for tapas? Pork tenderloin is easily transformed into smoky, garlicky Pinchos Morunos, which loosely (but poetically) translates as “Moorish bites impaled on thorns or small pointed sticks.” Need to shake up Taco Tuesday? Turn pork tenderloin into Tacos al Pastor. (If you don’t want to turn on the oven, you can make them on the grill.) You can even pound it into cutlets for German pork Schnitzel.
And despite its pedestrian reputation, a few roasted pork tenderloins can be downright special — show-stopping even — and they take well to pretty much any flavor profile you can think of. Chili and peanuts, caraway and dill, briny olives and tangy sun-dried tomatoes — I could go on and on, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll direct you to our collection of pork tenderloin recipes, so that you may peruse it at your leisure.
However you cook it, don’t cook it too much. Depending on the recipe, you want the thickest part of the tenderloin to reach somewhere in the range of 130-140°F. Yes, it will be a little pink inside. That’s a good thing.
But one cannot live on succulent-yet-lean meat alone. My favorite thing to serve with pork tenderloin is steaming hot white rice, especially with stir fries and roasts that come dripping with pan sauce. Speaking of sauce, it’s never a bad idea to have some flatbread around to sop it all up.
On the produce side, I’m a big fan of sweet corn dishes with salty pork. But right now, as we head into the hotter months, I’m really into sides that require no cooking whatsoever. Smashed cucumber salads, a simple shredded French carrot salad (it’s a bistro mainstay for a reason!), or ribbons of lemony zucchini. But you also can’t go wrong with mashed potatoes. The pan sauce from the paprika-rubbed tenderloin is outstanding on mashed potatoes.
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Claire Lower
Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.
