Pork Tenderloin Recipes

Pork Loin is made up of two types of meat with a bone stuck in the middle (think of the last time you had a pork chop). The top piece (larger of the two) is Boneless Pork Back (what peameal bacon - REAL Canadian Bacon is made from, sometimes referred to as Back Bacon in Canada). The lower piece is the Pork Tenderloin.

This is about as fancy as you dare get in the down-home Midwest, but it's okay if the pork tenderloin is from a native Iowa hog. The long cooking time will let you put a lot of prairie miles behind you. Just set the cruise control, line up your hood ornament with a distant landmark like the Nebraska state capitol, and set a timer to wake you up when dinner is ready. Cruising time: 250 miles.

Pork tenderloin is one of the leanest meats available, and according to the National Pork Producers' comparison chart; it's nearly as low in saturated fat as chicken breasts. The tenderloin is part of the loin, and you can usually find it sold separately in packages of two. Since there's very little fat on tenderloin, a small amount can go a long ways, particularly in stir-fry dishes, or cut and flattened as medallions.

Pork can be made more flavorful by marinating or seasoning before cooking. The main thing to remember when cooking pork tenderloins is not to overcook when roasting, since overcooking will cause the meat to dry out. It's a good idea to use a meat thermometer to test for doneness; cutting into the meat to test for color will cause too many good juices to run out.

Range of 150° to 165° is usually recommended (taking thermometer inaccuracies into account), which is well above the 137° necessary to kill any trichinae. This should produce tenderloin that's juicy, tender, and safe.

Since tenderloin is often somewhat higher in price, look for sales and stock up! Fresh pork may be kept frozen from 3 to 6 months.