Cooking Pork Tenderloin

Cooking pork tenderloin is a easy because it's a great cut of juicy, tender meat.

Use it in kebabs, stir fry, sandwiches or as the main dish for a casual family meal or fancy dinner party.

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Marinating Pork Tenderloin

Cooking Pork Tenderloin

Freezing Pork Tenderloin

Thawing Pork Tenderloin

Marinating Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin is great for marinating.

Often referred to as “dump recipes” you dump the meat and marinade in a freezer bag and freeze immediately.

The flavors get to mingle as the tenderloin is thawing saving you time and energy.

Try these flavors to get you started:

• Teriyaki Sauce

• Asian Sesame Sauce

• Savory Raspberry Sauce

Thaw overnight in the fridge and it’ll be ready for dinner that night.

Cooking Pork Tenderloin

Tenderloin can be grilled, roasted, or left in the crock pot to slowly cook all day.

Do not overcook your tenderloin because it‘s such a lean cut it will dry out easily.

Use a meat thermometer and remove the tenderloin from oven at 145 F and let it rest.

If you don’t like your pork pink at all you can wait until 155 F.

Letting it rest before cutting will allow it to continue to cook some and keep the juices in when you do carve it.

Searing the sides before cooking is optional, I usually don’t bother because I like low fuss cooking and no one is sure it actually seals in the juice.

I don’t think it’s worth the work just for visual appeal.

To roast in the oven bake it at 425 F for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer shows the temperature you want between 145 and 155 F.

If your going to freeze the cooked meat take it off the heat at 145 F so it’s not overcooked when you reheat it.

Never under cook meat because of the risk of food borne illness.

Once the meat is off the heat tent it with foil to keep it warm and let it sit at least 5 minutes before cutting.

Freezing Pork Tenderloin

Always remove as much air as possible from the package, label, date and add to your freezer inventory sheet.

Raw:

Raw pork tenderloin should be wrapped thoroughly and tightly.

The best way to wrap raw meats is in butcher paper for long term storage and in freezer quality plastic bags for store short term storage, under 3 months.

Marinated:

If your marinating your meat use a freezer quality plastic bag. Add cold marinade and freeze immediately.

Cooked:

Cooked pork tenderloin should be well wrapped and frozen in individual or family meal sized portions.

It can be wrapped in plastic wrap and tin foil or in a freezer bag.

Slicing before freezing can save time but increases the surface area thus increasing the opportunity for the meat to become dry.

I recommend slicing after thawing for family sized portions and before freezing for individual meals.

Thawing Pork Tenderloin

Raw or marinated meat should be thawed in the fridge for several hours or overnight depending on size.

If it’s in a plastic bag it can be thawed in very cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes to keep it out of the danger zone where bacteria can grow.

Avoid thawing in the microwave because the outside will start to cook before the center is thawed and with such a lean cut of meat it’ll really hurt the quality leaving it dry and chewy.

Cooked pork tenderloin can be thawed in the fridge then reheated on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave until hot.

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