Ad Hoc Brined Pork Tenderloin

We're cooking our way through Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home...

This tenderloin has to be the simplest of the recipes in the book we've tried so far though it does require some advance planning. Actually you need to plan two weeks ahead of time to make this in order to cure the lemons, not that curing the lemons was hard or anything. You just slice the lemon thin & let it sit in an airtight container covered in a salt & sugar mixture for two weeks in the fridge. You need to make sure the lemons are completely covered so they won't get moldy.

The lemons get quite soft & have a salty flavor but to tell you the truth next time I make this pork recipe I'll just use thin slices of fresh lemon. The brine makes the pork salty enough & I think it's the tart lemon flavor was the important part.

Ok, so you've cured your lemons & now two weeks later you are ready to make your pork. First you must brine it for 4 hours. The book says do not brine it any longer as it will get too salty (believe this do not let your pork brine too long!). To be completely honest I have to tell you we only brined ours between 3 - 3 1/2 hours.

Pork Brine
(from Ad Hoc at Home)

3 T honey
6 bay leaves
2 fresh rosemary springs
1/4 oz fresh thyme sprigs
1 oz fresh flat leaf parsley sprigs
6 cloves garlic, crushed with the skin left on
1 T black peppercorns
1/2 c kosher salt
4 c water
1 pork tenderloin, silverskin removed)

Bring all the ingredients to boil. Stir & boil for 1 minute, until the salt is dissolved. Cool completely before adding the pork. (If you want to cool your brine quickly put the pot in a large bowl of ice & it'll do the trick.) Put the pork tenderloin & brine in a bowl just big enough to hold them. Let sit in the fridge for 4 hours.

Enough to brine one tenderloin.

Ok, your pork has sat in its briny goodness for 4 hours now its time to cook!

Brined Pork Tenderloin
(from Ad Hoc at Home)

1 T canola oil
salt & pepper
1 T unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig
4 - 5 slices cured lemon slices
sea salt

Remove the pork from the brine, rinse it & pat it dry. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Salt & pepper the pork. Put the pork in the hot skillet & cook until golden brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Add the butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary & lemon slices. Cook for another two minutes basting the herbs, lemon & garlic with the juices in the pan.

Move the pork to a roasting pan with a rack set in it. Lay the lemon slices across the top of the pork, overlapping them a little. Top with the thyme, rosemary & garlic. Roast for 20 minutes, until the pork registers 135-140 on & instant read thermometer.

Here the recipes tells you to sprinkle the pork with sea sat. We didn't & believe me it did not need more salt.

Let the pork sit for 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

4 servings

So, how was it? It was amazing! This pork was so tender it just melted in your mouth. Plus you can really taste the flavors from the brine & cooking. All the flavors blend together really well without any of them overpowering the other. It was also wonderful the next day sliced thin for cold sandwiches. We will be using this method to cook pork tenderloin again.

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