So awhile ago, I blogged about my new favorite side dish. And it’s still pretty much my favorite side dish, except now that fingerling potatoes are difficult to come by, I just buy a bag of red potatoes and pick out the smallest ones I can find and it works beautifully.
One of my favorite things about those potatoes isthis flavorful, garlicky/salty/tangy rosemary-infused crust that develops. Once, as I was secretly snacking on the roasted garlic crumbles washing the dishes after dinner, I was completely stricken with how fabulous the rub would be on a roasted pork tenderloin. And I tried it. And it was fabulous.
One of the best things about pork tenderloins is that they cook quickly and feel fancy, so, say you have a romantic Valentine’s Day planned with lots of skiing and canoodling and you want to cook a nice, romantic dinner at home, but you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen. Or…say you spend Valentine’s Day wrangling children and cleaning up messes and you’re at your wit’s end and you want a nice dinner, but you’re too tired to cook. Well…lucky you…this recipe works either way!
Seriously–thirty minutes, you’re done (and a good chunk of that is spent sitting on the couch while the pork is roasting). You can mix a little extra olive oil with a little of the rub and toss it with some diced potatoes and bake them right on the pat at the same time. Or serve it alongside some asparagus or blanch some green beans for a minute or two and saute them in a little butter and garlic and Happy Valentine’s Day to YOU.
Garlic-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 medium or small pork tenderloins
- 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons chopped rosemary leaves strip them from the woody stem first
- 2 ½ tablespoons coarse mustard
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450℉. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Rinse pork tenderloin in cool water and trim any excess fat or the silvery membrane on the meat. Pat dry and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rosemary leaves, mustard, garlic, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Carefully rub all over pork roast, particularly on top. Place in heated oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer reaches 155 degrees. When the meat is done, remove from oven and allow to stand 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Questions & Reviews
Man one day too late. I was looking every where for a pork tenderloin recipe just yesterday. This would have been perfect, since I have all the ingredients. I'll have to try this next time I have some pork in the fridge.
Wow, that looks good. I just wish garlic smelled good to me when I'm pregnant 🙁 I guess it'll just have to wait…
Both of those sound like great ideas – thanks! 🙂
sara
Olivia's Mommy–I think if I had a loin, I might cut it in half, just so you have a higher crust-to-meat ratio, you know? One of the things I really like about this recipe is that because loins are so skinny, the flavor really permeates the whole cut of meat.
The other thought I had was slicing the loin into 1" pork chops and then just rubbing the whole chop with the mustard mixture and cooking it that way.
Hey Kate – looks delicious!
I have a pork LOIN – the big one, not the tenderloin… do you think doubling the recipe would work for that?
Thanks! Can't wait to try it – i looOOVE rosemary!
LMcBurney–I do have some other pictures, but let's just say that this rub on raw meat might detract people from wanting to make it… 🙂
Ha ha ha ha! That’s so funny, and so true.
Sounds great! I would love to see a few more pictures of the process though because I am such a visual learner.
Love this recipe!
I just bought a pork tenderloin last night because our grocery store had a massive after-super bowl sale. Can't wait to try this! Perfect timing~
I am definitely there with the thermometer frustration! Any brands you can recommend as a "sure thing"? Love the recipe, though. Pork tenderloins are wonderfully tender. Once all this snow melts, I can't wait to try this recipe on the grill.