Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Everybody should always have a go-to recipe in case you have a last-minute dinner guest. This recipe for pork tenderloin looks impressive, tastes amazing and is so quick and easy. And it's still as tasty and easy even if you don't have anyone to impress:)

I adjusted my version of this recipe from Ina Garten's recipe for pork tenderloin. The amounts are just guestimates, as I always just eye-ball everything. It still tastes good even if you put a little too much of something, promise! That's the difference between baking and cooking. Baking is a science, and you have to measure everything exactly. When you cook, you can adjust the amounts to suit your taste buds, without having to worry that your cake won't turn out right. These amounts are for one tenderloin, which serves about 3 people.

Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons vinegar (I use red-wine vinegar, but use whatever you have on hand, or whatever is your favorite)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (the cheap stuff is okay here)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme (but if you have fresh, use it!)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (again, if you have fresh, use it!)
salt & pepper

To make clean-up super easy, I always marinate in a large ziplock bag. Then, when you're done, just throw it away. Start by placing the liquids in the ziplock. As I said before, you can just eye-ball everything, and then you'll avoid having to clean up the measuring cups too.

Olive oil:

Lemon Juice:

Vinegar:

Next, add in all the spices and mustard.

Squish everything together with your hands (on the outside, not inside of the bag!) and add your pork tenderloin.

Zip up the bag and massage the marinade into the meat. Let sit in the fridge for a few hours, overnight, or up to 24 hours. The longer you let this marinate, the better the flavors will be. But a few hours is okay too, if you don't have the time.

About 45 minutes before you want to serve this, you need to start cooking. Once again, get your favorite heavy-bottomed skillet and heat it up so it's screaming hot. Make sure whatever pan you use is oven-proof (no plastic handles or anything)--this is why a cast-iron one is best. You want the meat to sear on the outside so the juices are kept inside, and the best way to sear is on a hot, hot pan. Sear all sides of the tenderloin for a few minutes on each side. While you're searing, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

After all the sides are seared, place the entire pan in the oven uncovered. Let cook in the oven for 15 minutes. If you like your pork well-done, you should probably leave your pork in the oven for closer to 20 minutes.

After the 15-20 minutes in the oven, take the pan out, and place back onto the stove (but NOT onto the heat) to let it rest. Take a large piece of aluminum foil, and cover the pork completely, not super tight, but also not super loose. This is called "tenting" and what this will do is help the pork to cook a little longer. It will also let the juices redistribute so when you cut into it the juices don't run out, and you have juicy pork, instead of a juicy cutting board. Let the pork sit like this for another 15 minutes. I promise, it won't be cold when you come back to it, it'll still be warm, hot even!

After your pork has finished resting, cut it into 1" slices, and serve.

Yummy, and looks pretty fancy, right? All you need is a quick salad and your favorite side dish, and voila!

(See how rare I like my pork.. cook it to however you like it. And if you find that you made it too rare after your slice it, put the pan back onto a burner, and just cook the slices for a few more minutes--no big deal!)