Pork Tenderloin with Salsa Verde
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 15 mins
Active: 15 mins
Makes: 2 to 3 servings
By Regan Burns
Butterflying pork tenderloin ensures not only even cooking but also quicker preparation. Ours gets rubbed with a simple Dijon-oil mixture and served with Salsa Verde on the side. Try it with our bulgur and a salad for a pleasing weeknight dinner.
Level of difficulty: Easy.
- 1 (12- to 16-ounce) pork tenderloin
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salsa Verde
- Heat the broiler to low and arrange the rack in the top of the oven.
- To butterfly pork, place tenderloin on a cutting board with one end pointing toward you. Slice lengthwise down the center of the tenderloin, almost but not quite cutting through it, leaving about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness of meat intact.
- Open tenderloin up like a book and push on it to flatten.
- Starting on the right side, with the blade of the knife perpendicular to the cutting board, make a 1-inch-deep incision down the length of the seam, being careful not to cut through the meat.
- Push to flatten. Rotate tenderloin and repeat on uncut side along seam.
- Place tenderloin on a baking sheet.
- Combine mustard and olive oil and rub on top of pork, then season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place tenderloin under the broiler and cook until top is light golden brown, about 8 minutes.
- Remove from the broiler and place on a cutting board. Cover pork loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice pork against the grain and place on a platter. Serve with Salsa Verde.
Beverage pairing: This dish has great balance on its own, so a balanced wine is also called for. Pork can often go with red or white wine; the salsa verde may push in the direction of the latter. However, a light, lean, and earthy red might be a little more interesting. Use the mustard as a jumping off point and go with a simple red from the region of Dijon, Burgundy. Try the 2005 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain from Domaine Jean Tardy, a bright, juicy blend of 50 percent Pinot Noir and 50 percent Gamay from one of the top producers in the region.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
so easy and so delicious!
Made the whole thing for dinner last night. It was incredible! The salsa verde is packed with flavor. We (2) have plenty left over.
No duh!!!!!!!
Excuse me for sounding like a valleygirl-teen-stereotype but I would never have thought about butterflying the tenderloin from end-to-end. What a great idea! Where is MY brain? Fast and tasty. Great idea!
Enter shrimp or shrooms or whatever and you've got a stuffed piece of wonderfulness tied up in the middle.
Kudos!
burnsie
Delicious, quick, easy. Made a great mid-week dinner!
where's the salsa verde recipe? does this heading say pork tenderloin w/ salsa verde!!
"Salsa Verde" is a link in the ingredient list -- that will take you to the other recipe.
I have made this so many times... the salsa verde is just to-die-for good. (I eat it with a spoon...)
I had trouble following the instructions for butterflying the pork but I'll do better next time. The sauce went really well with the pork. But I have a hunch I could prepare butterflied chicken breasts the exact same way. Or that I could broil fish _ an oily one like bluefish _ or a beef or lamb steak with the same mustard-olive oil preparation and serve it with the same salsa verde. What do you think?
Made this last evening with pasta and salad. What a lovely treat without much work! The Salsa Verde is delicious and we drizzled it on the pasta and salad as well. I will definitely be adding this to my simple staples weekday meals list.
(Novice here, I apologize in advance) I'm a bit confused about the butterfly instructions after the initial slice down the center. Do you make a slice along the outside of each half? Do you open those flaps at all?
semily24,
You got it right! You make a slice along the outside of each half and the flaps don't open so much as you press them down to spread the tenderloin out, and maximize the surface area.