Piggy Goes To Market

This recipe is from food.com.

DIRECTIONS

1. Determine the EXACT weight of roast from the meat wrapper or scale. Weight will determine how long to cook the roast.
2. Bring tenderloin to room temp.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season meat as desired (dry herbs, garlic/onion powders, etc).  Place seasoned meat in an uncovered roasting pan on a shelf in the bottom 1/3 of your oven.
4. Bake EXACTLY 5 1/2 minutes PER POUND. Turn oven off and DO NOT open the oven door.
5. If you have a in-oven thermometer like this: Polder digital thermometer , then set the alarm for 140 degrees. Remove meat from oven when the alarm goes off.
6. Otherwise, let the tenderloin remain in the oven for 45 min to 1 hour.
7. Remove pork from oven, lightly cover with foil, and let rest 5-10 minutes to redistribute internal juices. Roast should be done, very slightly pink in the center, and very moist.
8. After resting 10 minutes, the roast should reach a safe 145-150 degrees.

After preparing a pork loin this way, I realized I’ve been eating over-cooked pork my whole life. The result is an incredibly juicy and pink pork loin.

A few years ago, the USDA changed it’s recommendation for the safe internal temperature of pork from 160F to 145F.  This is a monumental difference!

I grew up thinking that pink pork is dangerous and was pretty shocked the first time I saw the pink center of a properly prepared pork loin. I actually put the meat back in the oven because I was cooking for people I knew would be uncomfortable eating it.

Embrace the pink! It’s much more delicious!

**Variation: To make Roasted Veggies along with the tenderloin, peel carrots and potatoes, and cut into about 1-inch cubes.   Season as desired and drizzle with a little oil.  Add vegetables to pan around (but NOT touching) pork tenderloin.  Cook tenderloin as instructed above.  The roasted potatoes and carrots should be done when the roast is done.  You may need to adjust the size of the potatoes and carrots depending upon the weight of your tenderloin and how long you cook it.

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