I love pork tenderloin. It’s affordable, easy to find at any grocery store, and highly versatile. It’s also quicker cooking than most roasts, making it equally suited for weeknights or holiday dinners. All you need is a basic pork tenderloin recipe to turn this powerhouse protein into an impressive meal.
Mild in flavor, pork tenderloin is a great canvas for any number of marinades or spice rubs. Slather it with honey, mustard, and thyme to serve alongside a big green salad and mashed potatoes. Dust it with brown sugar, paprika, and chili powder to enjoy over rice with spiced black beans. Marinate it in lemon juice, herbs, and olive oil, then slice thinly to add to Italian-inspired panini. No matter which way you spin it, this guide on how to cook pork tenderloin will lead you to juicy, tender pork every time.
How to shop for pork tenderloin:
Pork tenderloin is a long, narrow, boneless cut of pork. It’s quite lean, which means it’s prone to drying out when overcooked—but that’s not happening on our watch. It’s a much smaller roast than pork loin, a wider cut with a fat cap along the top. This larger loin cut (sometimes sold bone-in) can feed up to eight people, whereas a single pork tenderloin feeds two to three people.
How to prep pork tenderloin:
First, inspect your tenderloin: Sometimes, the butcher will have removed the silver skin, a shimmery greyish band of connective tissue on the surface of the pork. If yours still has one, use a sharp knife to wiggle under the silver skin; trim it away and discard it as it’s pretty tough. Then, pat the tenderloin dry with a paper towel.
To ensure the pork stays juicy, you’ll need an instant-read thermometer. We used to think that to safely consume pork, it had to be cooked to 160°—this is why the tenderloin you might remember from childhood tasted as dry as a piece of stale bread. But people learn and grow. It turns out that 145° is a safe internal temperature and will give you a much juicier, more tender piece of meat (note that ground pork should still be cooked to 160°). But remember, the temperature will continue to rise while the pork rests, so pull the roast from the oven when it’s 5 to 10 degrees shy of your desired doneness.
And on that resting time: Pork tenderloin benefits from a 10- to 15-minute rest before slicing, which allows the juices to redistribute within the meat. If you slice it right out of the hot pan, the juices will flow right onto your cutting board, and the pork will be much dryer and less flavorful.
What’s the most foolproof way to cook pork tenderloin?
Now that you know a few basic guidelines, it’s time to focus on the cooking method. I tested four standard pork cooking techniques in search of perfectly cooked pork with a golden crust and juicy, tender interior. For each method, I lightly oiled a marinated pork tenderloin, cooked it to an internal temperature of 145°, and allowed it to rest for five minutes before slicing.
