Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin - 20 minute recipe! - A Gouda Life (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook pork tenderloin so it's not tough? ›

For the best, juiciest pork tenderloin, sear the pork on all sides in a skillet before finishing it in the oven. The spice blend you use is up to you (we love using a this steak seasoning or fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme).

Sear + Roast

This cooking method is a surefire way to make moist and juicy pork tenderloin without much fuss. Searing the meat first gives it that golden-brown crust before a quick roast in the oven finishes it off. It's an easy, crowd-pleasing meal for any night of the week.

Place the tenderloins directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 145℉, 1 to 2 hours. (The time will vary depending on the size of the tenderloins, your grill, and the weather.) Remove the tenderloins from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Brush the grill with vegetable oil. Remove the tenderloin from the bag and place in the center of grate. Discard bag with marinade. Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F.

If you're not confident in your cooking skills, there is one foolproof way to guarantee your pork ends up on the tender side, even if you cook it too long: Soak it in a brine or a marinade. According to Hazel, these kinds of preparations always produce the most tender outcomes.

Pork shoulder might start out as a fatty, tough cut of meat, but cook it low and slow for a few hours and it will be transformed into tender, juicy shreds that fall apart with the touch of your fork.

Washing beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination.

Should you sear beef tenderloin before cooking it? If roasting a tenderloin in the oven, you'll definitely want to sear it to get a golden brown crust. It doesn't take very long, and is so worth the effort.

But really, it takes no extra effort, just some forethought. And so I will always season lamb shanks the day before they go into the braise. I will try to season chickens the day before, but if I don't have the chance, I won't sweat it; and I will season steaks and pork roasts right before searing.

You do not need to flip pork loin when smoking -- if you have even heat throughout the smoking area as you will if smoking on a Traeger. If your grill or smoker is not a Traeger, it may have hot spots, so you may need to move the meat around to prevent some parts from overcooking.

Should I wrap pork tenderloin in foil when smoking? ›

No, we don't recommend wrapping pork loin in foil when smoking because it can prevent the smoke from flavoring the meat. Foil is often used to speed up the cooking process for larger cuts of meat like pork butt, but with a smaller cut like pork loin, it's not necessary.

Pork tenderloin is prone to drying out if over cooked, making sure to take the roast off the smoker as soon as the internal temperature reaches 145°F is imperative in achieving a nice juicy pork roast. Expect this to take about 1.5 hours to be finished.

Best to cook at about 200–225°F and get the internal temperature up to 190°F. The meat should fall apart and be plenty moist then. How long do you cook a pork loin at 250 degrees? That totally depends on how big a piece of meat and which cut you are cooking.

With a pork tenderloin: Season the meat, sear all sides in a very hot pan, and then finish in the oven at 350°F (175°C) degrees until the internal temp. hits 145°F (63°C).

You could eat it at a lower temperature, but the magic number is between 200 and 205 degrees. This is the best temperature for pulling the pork apart. Take it out of the oven and let the pork rest. Just like when you cook a steak, you should let any meat rest so you don't lose the juices by cutting into it too early.

Overcooking it.

Tenderloin is lean and one of the most tender cuts around, but the lack of fat means that overcooking it will result in dry, tough meat. Follow this tip: Tenderloin is best served rare or medium-rare, so use a thermometer to make sure it doesn't get cooked past 140°F in the center.

It's not possible to cook tenderloin well-done without being leathery. Above an internal temp of 150 degrees, there's a muscle filament called actin that starts to denature. It's this process that causes the muscle fibers to get firm, shorten, and dry out.

Once you know how to cook pork tenderloin using the sear-and-roast method, your pork will come out tender every time. Seasoning the pork simply with just salt and pepper works, but this lean cut of meat takes well to a spice rub or marinade.