Pork Tenderloin with Salsa Verde Recipe
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Butterflying pork tenderloin ensures even cooking as well as quicker preparation. Our tenderloin gets rubbed with a simple Dijon-oil mixture and served with Salsa Verde on the side. Try it with our Mushroom and Carrot Bulgur and a salad for a pleasing weeknight dinner.
- 1 (12- to 16-ounce) pork tenderloin
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the baking sheet
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salsa Verde for serving
- Heat the broiler to medium and arrange a rack in the top of the oven.
- To butterfly the pork, place the tenderloin on a cutting board with one end pointing toward you. Slice lengthwise down the center, almost but not quite cutting through the tenderloin, leaving about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness of meat intact.
- Open the tenderloin up like a book and push on it to flatten.
- Starting on the left side, with the blade of the knife parallel to the cutting board and the blade facing left, slice down the length of the seam, maintaining the 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness.
- Pull the meat open and press down to flatten. Continue cutting and flattening until the entire left half is 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Rotate the tenderloin and repeat on the other half.
- Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and place the tenderloin cut-side down on the baking sheet.
- Combine the mustard and measured olive oil in a small bowl and rub it on top of the pork, then season the meat well with salt and pepper. Place the tenderloin under the broiler and cook until the top is light golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from the broiler and place on a cutting board. Cover the pork loosely with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice 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.
Hey all, the butterflying instructions and photos have been updated, and hopefully easier to follow now. greenvlfoodee, butterflying cuts down on the cook time, and, bethd92692, it also results in even cooking without having to flip the meat over.
Amy Wisniewski, CHOW test kitchen
Yummy Yummy! This recipe goes into my favorites notebook! I even used leftovers to make breakfast tacos the next morning.
I believe this type of cut is better known as the "Accordion Cut". I might be wrong as I am somewhat of a novice here myself. For those who are having difficulty or confusion - don't think about it so much. Wield your sharpest knife with fearlessness and determination and if it doesn't look exactly like the picture no one will ever know!!!!
but why butterfly if there is no filling?
Stupid question for the day: I'm planning on making this tonight, and noticed that the instructions did not mention turning the tenderloin to brown the second side. Is it just assumed that the 8 minutes cooking time is divided into 4 minutes per side?
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.
(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?
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.
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?
I have made this so many times... the salsa verde is just to-die-for good. (I eat it with a spoon...)
"Salsa Verde" is a link in the ingredient list -- that will take you to the other recipe.
where's the salsa verde recipe? does this heading say pork tenderloin w/ salsa verde!!
Delicious, quick, easy. Made a great mid-week dinner!
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
Made the whole thing for dinner last night. It was incredible! The salsa verde is packed with flavor. We (2) have plenty left over.
so easy and so delicious!