Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa
A tender cut of pork that can be quickly roasted in high heat and served with a spicy mango relish.
This is a revisited and revised recipe I originally created in 2009. The mango salsa recipe is unchanged, however, the pork tenderloin is a different interpretation of a recipe I originally made with a sauce from Williams-Sonoma that is no longer available. This recipe makes its own delicious pan gravy and perfectly compliments the salsa.
A pork tenderloin is a small, round cut of pork that comes from the back of the animal. It is very tender and second only to a skinless chicken breast for the lowest fat content of any meat. It therefore works well with bold seasonings and flavorful side dishes. This is delicious along side a rice pilaf or couscous.
Don’t Take Chances Overcooking the Tenderloin
You will need a meat thermometer. The tenderloin cooks fast but you do not want to overcook it. While I have approximate cooking times in the recipe, not all tenderloins are the same size, and other factors, like humidity and altitude, will affect its cooking time, so best to use a thermometer for pinpoint accuracy and a perfectly roasted dinner. The best kind of meat thermometer to use, in my opinion, is the digital kind that has an ovenproof probe which reads the internal temperature of the meat in real-time. This is far easier than removing the meat from the oven every so often to take a reading with a hand-held model.
Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 1-lb pork tenderloins
- 2-3 tbsp paprika
- 3/4 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked salt (like, San Francisco Salt Company Cherry Wood)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire black pepper (like, McCormick)
- 1/8 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp seasoned salt (like, Morton's Nature's Seasons Seasoning Blend)
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- Kitchen Tapestry's Mango Salsa
Instructions
- Make the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mango Salsa a few hours ahead of time.
- Take the tenderloins out of the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking.
- Preheat an oven to 425°F with a rack in the top 1/3 of the oven. Put a cast iron skillet in the oven to get it screaming hot.
- Mix the paprika, chili powder, smoked salt, onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire black pepper, cumin and olive oil in a mixing bowl and using a whisk, blend well.
- Liberally apply the spiced olive oil mixture to each tenderloin. Use your hands to get it into all the nooks and crannies of the meat. Insert your meat thermometer horizontally into the end of one of the tenderloins such that the probe is more or less in its center.
- Carefully remove the hot cast iron skillet from the oven, add a bit of olive oil to the pan, then place both tenderloins in. They'll start to sizzle right away.
- Return the pan to the oven, and roast for 15 minutes. Turn the tenderloins over and roast another 10-15 minutes or until your meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 150°F.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and take the tenderloins to a carving board, tented with aluminum foil and allow them to rest for five minutes. You'll note they've left behind a delicious pan gravy.
- Carve the tenderloin into 1/2-inch thick medallions, spoon over a little of the pan gravy over top and serve with the mango salsa around the meat.
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 small ripe mango, peeled, cored and finely diced
- 1-2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, cored, seeds removed and finely diced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp honey
- juice of 1 fresh lime
- 2 shakes Tabasco Sauce
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 6-7 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
- Make the salsa at least a few hours before using so all of the flavors have time to marry. Overnight is even better because the acid from the lime juice and vinegar will break down the fiber in the mango and tomatoes, giving you a saucier salsa.
