Recipe Notes: Pan-seared Pork Tenderloin Steaks

2 May 2018

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2018

One of our favorite cuts of pork is the tenderloin. Looking back in the blog I find several posts about pork tenderloin dinners and several different recipes, all enjoyed. Pork tenderloin is readily available and can be prepared relatively quickly. This recipe, from a recent edition of Cook's Illustrated magazine, emulates sous vide cooking which leads to perfectly cooked, tender, juicy steaks. Can it be done in an oven rather than a constant temperature water bath?

Using the "for two" version of the recipe from the web site, I started with one pork tenderloin. As it weighed almost 1.5 pounds, and the recipe specified 1 pound, I cut it into three steaks rather than two. These were pounded into 1-inch thick steaks, seasoned, and placed in a 275° oven until the internal temperature was around 140°, about 45 minutes. They were removed from the oven, rested on paper towels for ten minutes to dry the surface, then seared in a hot skillet. After a 5 minute rest they were sliced and served. Total preparation time for dinner was 70 minutes.

The steaks were very good! They were juicy, tender, and well seasoned. We got three dinners out of the one tenderloin. To prepare the leftovers the steaks were reheated in a low oven, about 200°. They were still tender and juicy, especially the largest piece which was a little under done to start with. This is a simple way to prepare a favorite cut of meat, another winner!