How to prepare pastured pork tenderloin on the grill or baked in the oven that is melt-in-your-mouth tender and perfect for the main meal or lunch sandwiches.
I found a pastured pork tenderloin while “freezer diving” a few weeks ago.
It was over a year old but still tasted delicious both as a main meal and as leftovers.
This is the benefit of buying quality pastured meat from a local farm. It is very fresh when you get it and so lasts even longer in the freezer.
This is quite unlike supermarket meat which can potentially be gassed and/or frozen/thawed several times before you buy it “fresh”.
I thought I would share the easy preparation steps so you could try it yourself the next time you see it available.
One method for preparing healthy pork is to marinate it for a short period of time before cooking as practiced by traditional cultures.
This careful preparation was necessary for safety and added digestibility.
The most prominent of these was the long-lived Okinawan culture where pork was a staple.
Pastured Pork Tenderloin
How to prepare pastured pork tenderloin on the grill or baked in the oven in a traditional manner that is melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin preferably pastured from a local farm
- 1-2 fresh garlic cloves coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup whey
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbl sea salt
- freshly ground peppercorns
- 2 sprigs rosemary optional
- sourdough buns optional
Instructions
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Trim any excess skin from the surface of the tenderloin.
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Place trimmed pork tenderloin in a glass bowl.
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Mix whey and lemon juice and pour over the top.
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Marinate uncovered in the refrigerator for one hour.
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Rinse tenderloin with filtered water and and dry thoroughly with a clean, cotton dishtowel.
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Cut a large clove of garlic (or two smaller ones) into four or five pieces.
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Press the garlic pieces into openings you can make in the pork tenderloin flesh deep enough in so you can almost over it over with the flesh.
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Rub two tablespoons of sea salt all over the surface of the tenderloin.
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Freshly grind black pepper all over the surface of the tenderloin.
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Place on top rack of barbecue grill (or in the oven) which is 350-400 °F (177-204 °C) in a base of foil or foil substitute.
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Cover and cook for thirty minutes. To ensure that it is done, test with a thermometer that the middle is 145-165 °F (66-74 °C) after cooking.
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Slice and garnish with optional rosemary sprigs on a serving platter. Serve immediately.
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Enjoy leftovers as pork sandwiches on sourdough buns with homemade barbecue sauce.
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