(Controversial*) Pork Tenderloin
Don't flog me, but I am going to talk about pork, the other white meat. It's what's for dinner!
I know pork doesn't seem that controversial but online there is a whole group of research* that is very much against pork and it is not for religious reasons, there are legitimate health reasons for not eating some cuts of pork (yummmm... bay-con). If I wasn't such a self-proclaimed, smart-cookie,* I could have easily been swayed, for either camp. The 1 unbiased site I did find said you can eat pork if: it is a pork tenderloin with fat trimmed and it is cooked to 170 degrees* so that it is safe to eat then the health effects are similar to eating any meat.*
Enter my recipe for controversy!
(Controversial*) Pork Tenderloin
(It's really nothing fancy, but wo/man was it moist!)
1 pork tenderloin
olive oil
salt & pepper
grill pan
olive oil
JB's Fat Boy Apple Cider Honey Mustard Sauce (All natural, no HFCS, best sauces EVER!*)
honey
1 apple
Preheat oven to 375. Heat grill pan to med/high. Salt and pepper pork tenderloin on all sides (Controversy 1: I did not cut off the little fat that was on the loin.) and grill on all sides, about 5 minutes a side. Lightly oil bottom of baking dish, put tenderloin in dish, cover with some JB Fat & a little honey and surround with thin slices of an apple. Bake loin, flip halfway through and add a little more JB's Fat Boy and honey. Cook extra 5 minutes at 500, let rest for 5 minutes, slice and serve.*
Well... that's not exactly how I did it...
Complicated Controversy #2: Generally, I hold to the theory of baking pork at 375 for 25 min/lb to get the tenderloin cooked to 160+ (160 is what my Betty Crocker Cookbook tells me). I did not have enough baking time (I had a 2.79lb loin and only an hour to cook in the oven) so I went online* and wanted to see if I could possibly cook it for less and NOT DIE! I found this recipe on Recipe Zaar* that said, "According to Sara Moulton on FoodTV, salmonella is killed at 138 degrees, and 145 is a safe temperature for pork, although the USDA recommends 160 degrees (meat will be drier).*" It instructed to cook at a higher temp, 500 for 5.5min/lb and then let sit in the oven for an hour.*
What to do! I baked 25 min a side then cranked up the heat to 500 and cooked 5 more minutes, took it out and let it sit for 5 minutes.
The internal temp was 155 but when I sliced it open, none of it was pink. And you know what, it was not dry, it was moist... and... I ain't one to gossip, so you didn't hear this from me... it was delicious... and... shhh... my family loved it, I loved it (I am a "medium" girl) and my husband (who prefers his meat med-rare, more toward the rare) was raving.. he even said, "It tastes like gourmet pork from a 5-star restaurant."*
Be safe and cook it 25min/lb to get above 160+*... I don't want anyone getting ill on my recipe.
I tell you what though, I was very hesitant to post this recipe because of all the negative websites & blogs* about pork and how it is not necessarily the healthiest food out there, because honestly, it isn't.* However, I kept getting reminded of that old adage, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," so I decided to post it because it was yummy.
Don't get me wrong, I think the pros and cons are legitimate and I think eating healthy is a MUST, especially when it comes to heart disease and other illnesses based mostly off the food we eat. From a researcher standpoint though, isn't it interesting how now-a-days if we want to know something we can go online, search out a question and find the answer from random websites where everyone knows what they are talking about and anybody can be on good authority?**
** - *All my cases in point, :)!
Most of the people who write against the stuff that actually tastes good tend to have little to no joy in their own lives, so they have to look for ways to take the joy from everyone else, IMHO. Enjoy the pork. God let us eat it for a reason (and I might try that recipe someday).
Not sure I totally agree with the no joy part, IMHO. ;) You know, it's funny that you posted this. I'm not the biggest fan of pork (while... I do like me some bacon), and so we never have it. I will say though, that I think pulled pork sandwiches are something worth having in your life.
I didn't realize pork was so controversial. I'm like Sarah- not a huge fan of pork outside of bacon (yummm!), so we rarely eat it. It is difficult to decipher through the info that's out there. Nutrition is probably the most difficult thing to study because of how varied our diets our and how difficult it is to isolate a particular variable (and even if you did, it still doesn't reflect how humans eat). And it does tend to be something that everyone feels like an expert, maybe because we all cook and we all eat. There are still ways to look at the info and determine the likelihood of credibility. But in some ways, I think we have to treat food like we would anything else and leave an element of faith in there. Try your best to honor God by eating healthy and taking care of your body, but it's not really honoring when we obsess and worry about every food. Because really you could take any food and find someone who sings its praises and another person who thinks its the worst food you could ever eat.
I didn't realize pork was controversial either.... We eat pork! :) But mostly pork tenderlions.. and in moderation... I think like most things... I have learned in my adventures.. its mostly about moderation... so I will continue to eat Pork... Maybe we will try your recipie! Thanks for it.. it sounds delish!
My grandpa was a pig farmer for much of his life, so we ate pork growing up. And of course, it's none of this healthy pork tenderloin stuff - nope my favorite meal, always served on my birthday, was BBQ pork chops. Pulled pork and bacon are great too. BUT...it's something we only eat in moderation. Matt isn't a big fan of pork in any form other than bacon, so it's no huge loss to limit our intake to once every other month or so. It's not even an effort, it's just something I rarely buy.
I think pork totally falls into that rarely buy category for most folks... outside of bacon. Bacon is just like none other, :)!