If you are looking for an incredibly flavorful, juicy and tender roasted pork tenderloin recipe, you're in the right spot! We are going to add in some wonderful aromatics including garlic, parsley, rosemary, carrots and onions. What a wonderful way to make pork tenderloin.
This roasted pork tenderloin recipe is: Gluten Free, Paleo, Low Carb and Loaded With Flavor!
WHY MAKE ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN?
At our house, we eat quite a bit of pork tenderloin. We love it because it is so versatile. You can braise it, bake it, roast it, slice it into medallions and saute it. Pork tenderloin is delicious in the smoker, on the grill and works great in a slow cooker too. We have pounded it thin and rolled it into delightful pinwheels with spinach, goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. One of my family's favorites is my wife's Provencal Pork Tenderloin with dijon and herbs de provence. So yummy.
HOW TO PREPARE PORK TENDERLOIN
When I was running my cooking school, so many people said that they avoided pork tenderloin simply because they were uncomfortable preparing the meat. I have found that one common thread for most home cooks is a discomfort in handling and preparing larger cuts of raw meat. Some people don't like touching the meat while others just don't know what to do with it.
Well, here's a quick written guide on how to prepare a pork tenderloin.
- MISE EN PLACE: Getting everything ready. We will need a sharp paring or utility (6") knife and a dishwasher safe cutting board. That's about it!
- HANDLING: If you are not comfortable handling raw meat, here's a quick tip: get some disposable latex gloves. I've heard from many people that they absolutely hate the feeling of the meat... the sliminess. Wearing disposable gloves will alleviate this feeling.
- PREPARATION: Open the package of tenderloins and remove both. Lay them out on the cutting board. Discard the juices and packaging (I pour the juice down the drain so the garbage doesn't smell). Using your knife, trim off any loose pieces of fat. Next, we need to find the silver skin. It looks exactly as it sounds. The silver skin is about 4" long. Once you see it, insert your paring knife right under the skin where you think it begins. Make sure the blade is pointing toward the nearest end of the loin. Carefully move the knife toward the end of the loin, slicing off a thin layer of the skin. Once you have exited the loin, simply slice off the flap and your pork tenderloin is ready to cook.
QUICK COOKING TIP: For this recipe, we're going to make a garlic paste that will be added into the loin before we cook it. You can make the garlic paste a few ways... Let's take a minute to discuss.
- With a Chef's Knife: This method takes a little time, patience and knife skills. If you don't have any of these, please move to the next method! If you're up to the challenge, here goes. First, mince the garlic well. Then sprinkle with two pinches of kosher salt. It needs to be a salt with a large grain because that will help to break down the garlic. Lay the blade of your knife on the garlic and salt, parallel to your cutting board. Place some pressure on the blade side of the knife and draw back over the garlic. Do this several times. You will see the garlic breaking down. Scrape back into a pile and repeat until a paste forms. Add in the chopped parsley another good pinch of salt and repeat. Add in the rosemary and mix well. You will soon have a wonderfully aromatic paste for the roasted pork tenderloin.
- In a blender or food processor: Simply add all the ingredients along with a good pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. While processing, make sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the processor.
- Use a Mortar & Pestle: If you have a mortar and pestle, add all the ingredients for the garlic paste along with a pinch of salt. Smash away until a paste is formed. Nice work- let's go and make some pork.
I can't wait to share this roasted pork tenderloin recipe with you! Let's check it out.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Veggies
Make this fantastic roasted pork tenderloin with veggies tonight... you won't regret it! This recipe has it all: garlic, parsley, mirepoix, tomatoes, wine & more! It's a whole meal in one pot.
Ingredients
For the Garlic & Parsley Paste
- 5 Cloves Garlic, minced
- ¼ Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, minced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, removed from the stem & minced
For the Pork Tenderloin
- 3 tablespoon Rendered Bacon Fat
- 3 LBS Pork Tenderloin, trimmed of fat and silver skin. Typically this is going to be 2 tenderloins that come together in a package.
- 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt, divided
- ½ tablespoon Pepper, divided
For the Veggies
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Onions, diced (I use Spanish)
- 1 Shallot, diced
- 4 Cup Carrots, peeled & diced (approx 1 )
- 3 Cup Celery Stalks, diced (approx 1 )
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Cup Dry Red Wine
- 1 14.5 OZ Can of Diced Tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. We are going to need a dutch oven or other heavy, oven proof pot with a tight fitting lid.
- Let's make the garlic paste. You can see the different methods to make the paste in the blog post under Quick Kitchen Tips. Either way you choose to make it will result in a pungent paste that we are going to insert into the pork tenderloin. Split the paste so you have enough for both tenderloins.
- We are going to season the pork tenderloins with the salt and pepper. Season both tenderloins well.
- Cut a 1" slit down the wide side of both pork tenderloins. Smear the paste into the slit.
- Heat a dutch oven over high heat. Add in the bacon fat. When the fat is shimmering, add in the tenderloins and allow to brown for 3-4 minutes without moving them. If you move them too much, the garlic paste will fall out. Using tongs, flip the tenderloins and cook for another 3-4 minutes. When they are browned, remove from the dutch oven and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the olive oil and the onions, with a pinch of salt. Let the onions cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring well and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add in the carrots and celery. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 6-8 minutes.
- Add in the dried herbs, mix well.
- Add in the red wine. Turn the heat to high. Allow to almost completely cook off.
- Add in the diced tomatoes. Stir well to combine and turn off the heat.
- Add the browned pork tenderloins back into the pot, right on top of the veggies.
- Cover with the lid and place in the oven for 2 hours.
- When you remove from the oven, pull the tenderloins from the dutch oven to a cutting board. Slice against the grain into about ½" slices. Cover with foil and set aside.
- Remove the veggies from the dutch oven and add to a serving dish. Layer the sliced pork over the veggies and serve hot. Enjoy!
Notes
Please remember that 2 hours of this recipe is in the oven... plenty of time to do other things!
If you want to make a delicious sauce to smother the roasted pork tenderloin, it is really easy. Simply remove about ¼ of the veggies from the dutch oven and add into a blender or Vitamix. Add ½ teaspoon Anchovy Paste and 1 teaspoon tomato paste. Blend on high. The color will turn into a beautiful red orange, almost like the most perfect sunset over the ocean. If it is too thick, add a touch of water. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Amount Per Serving Calories 441
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN RECIPE:
I love this recipe not only for how the flavors meld so wonderfully together (which they do!) but because it was the very first meal I cooked my wife back when we were dating. I knew I needed to make a good impression and sixteen years later I can say that this one was a winner!
The very first time I made this, I served it over pasta. It's delicious, but not gluten free. For the last several years, I've served it over polenta made with sauteed shallots and chicken stock. Yum. Since moving more toward paleo, we have found that this roasted pork tenderloin is fantastic over my zoodles recipe.
Hopefully you love this dish as much as we do. Happy eating and enjoy!
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I love the tomatoes and red wine with this pork! So delicious. And I love your tips on making the garlic paste. Never done it before, but I know I could do it now 🙂 It'd be really cool to see some pictures of making the paste or what the silver skin looks like. This recipe definitely is going on my short list!
Hi Erin:
I'm putting together a video on both of these currently. Hope to have them in the recipe within the week. Just starting on the videos, so it is taking me longer than expected!
Take care-
Scott
By the way I've started adding garlic paste to my burgers 🙂 magical stuff!
Hi Erin:
Isn't is just awesome? That post is coming out this week for Roasted Garlic Burgers. So yummy.
Have an excellent day-
Scott
[…] what should you pair the ratatouille dish with? It loves to be on a plate with Roasted Pork Tenderloin or the Perfect Pan Seared Pork Chop. If pork isn’t your thing, try these with my […]
That pork looks incredible!! Your pictures are really amazing and show off how tender the pork looks.
The garlic and parsley paste sounds like it would go really well and something id have to give a go...I love garlic!!
Thanks! 🙂
Hey Martin:
Thank you for your appreciation. Did you get the chance to make it?
Take care,
Scott
So good! The garlic and parsley paste is fantastic!
Hey Maggie:
It is absolutely delicious - there's just something about how those two go together...
Thank you for sharing.
Take care and happy eating!
Scott
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