Happy Halloween everyone and Happy Birthday to me! Yep, my birthday is on Halloween, and today’s recipe was prepared by my husband last night as my birthday meal.
He is more foodie than I am in terms of his knowledge on food and restaurants, and he enjoys cooking on special occasions as well as barbecuing on weekends. We had nice pork tenderloin in the fridge so he decided to make a recipe from his favorite cookbook, Thomas Keller’s ad hoc at home.
If you are familiar with Thomas Keller and his legendary restaurants, then you probably guessed the pork tenderloin turned out fabulous and it absolutely did. My husband adapted the recipe a little bit but he followed pretty much the original recipe. We all enjoyed the dinner and I hope you will give this a try. It requires some prep time, but mostly to brine the pork. It’s pretty simple cooking yet the flavor was very complex.
My husband’s birthday is in one week now and it’s my turn to brainstorm for his birthday meal! Last but not least, thank you Aunt Akemi for the beautiful flowers and birthday wishes. 🙂 Have a safe trick-or-treating everyone!
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Thomas Keller’s Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin (1 ¼ lb, 567 g)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For Pork Brine
- 6 Tbsp honey
- 12 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 3 sprigs thyme (fresh)
- 1 Tbsp Italian parsley
- ½ cup garlic (crushed)
- 2 Tbsp peppercorns
- 1 cup kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- 8 cups water
- 8 strands saffron
- 5 basil leaves
For Seasonings
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients for the pork brine and bring it to a boil. Remove from the heat and let it cool down. Then chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Put the pork in the brine for 3 hours in the fridge.
- Rinse the pork under cold water.
- Pat dry with a paper towel and sit in room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and season the pork generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet and brown all sides.
- Add Seasonings and cook, turn the pork occasionally so all sides are coated with seasonings for 3 minutes (I also added potatoes to roast together).
- Place iron skillet in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes (depending on if medium or well-done is preferred). Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 10 minutes. Slice pork into ½ inch (1.3 cm) slices and enjoy.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for a month.
I have Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home book, and I don’t see saffron in his Pork Brine recipe. Is this your own (expensive) innovation, or does he have a different brine recipe for the pork loin recipe?
Hi Kevin! It’s our own version. 🙂