pork tenderloin with mushroom sauce

At the beginning of quarantine life, we were struggling to find enough groceries to pull meals together. And by groceries, I mean fresh meat, fruits, and vegetables. We were able to find plenty of non-perishable items (minus the toilet paper and paper towels… which was okay, because my mother has literally been stockpiling those two items since 1987, and we were able to borrow some), but that’s just not how I cook.

This could have been a bad thing… however, it led me to try a local CSA I hadn’t tried before — which is beyond amazing— and butcher box, a once a month grass-fed, grass-finished frozen meat delivery service, that I had be wanting to try for at least a year… and now I had an excuse! My only prior hesitation was the frozen part - I was worried about the travel time, the defrost time, and how previously frozen meat would taste. Butcher box blew all my expectations away. We are solid converts. On almost all accounts, it is the best beef, pork, poultry, and seafood we’ve had.

One of our favorite cuts is the pork tenderloin. So tender, flavorful, and melt-in-your mouth deliciousness. If it’s available, it’s in my box each month.

It’s so easy to marinade, sear off, and finish in the oven, it’s a regular easy weekday meal at our house.

This particular version uses my favorite store bought sesame ginger marinade from primal kitchen, and finishes with a quick mushroom au jus to top everything off.

Ingredients:

2 pork tenderloins

2 bottles primal kitchen sesame ginger marinade

3 Tbsp evoo

1 carton crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 cup chicken stock

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp trader joe’s multipurpose umami seasoning

Directions:

Remove tenderloin from refrigerator and place in a ziplock baggie with marinade. Let sit out while oven preheats, and you prepare other ingredients 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high. Add evoo.

When evoo starts to shimmer, pull tenderloin from bag, shaking off excess (but not all) marinade, and add to pan. Leave tenderloin alone, 3-5 minutes per side, to brown. Once browned, turn heat off, and using oven mitts (reminder to myself), move pan to preheated oven.

Cook for 20-25 minutes in oven. Remove, place on cutting board, tent with tin foil, and let sit 10 minutes before carving.

While meat is resting, place pan back on stove at medium heat. Add mushrooms to pan. Sauté for 5 minutes until mushrooms change color and release water. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add garlic and umami seasoning. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Pour mushrooms and sauce over sliced tenderloin.