Roast pork tenderloin

The Goods:

1 lb pork tenderloin*

1 tbsp canola/other high heat oil

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp AP flour

1 sprig thyme

1 medium shallot

1 portabella mushroom cap

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 tsp country dijon mustard

1/2 tsp brown sugar

Brine

2000 g water (~2 liters)

100 g kosher salt

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp country dijon mustard

2 large sprigs thyme

1 sprig parsley

10 cloves garlic

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Weigh out the water and salt in a large container. Roughly tear the thyme and parsley; add to the brine. Add the other brine ingredients and mix well. Place the tenderloin in the brine liquid. Refrigerate overnight. I refrigerated mine for roughly 22 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the tenderloin from the brine; discard the brine liquid. Rinse the meat under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Add the canola oil to a large, oven-safe sauté pan and set the heat to medium high. Once the oil is hot, add the tenderloin to the pan. Sear the loin for roughly 2 minutes per side. Add the pan to the oven. Bake for 18 minutes. Finely dice the shallot and thyme sprig and slice the mushroom. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour together. After 18 minutes, remove the pork from the oven. Let the pork rest in a plate, under tin foil, for at least 15 minutes. This will produce a medium-rare roast.

Place the cooking pan back on the stove, on medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms. If they absorb all of the residual fat, a few spritzes of olive oil can be added to the pan. After a few minutes, add the shallot and thyme. After the shallot turns translucent, deglaze the pan with the vegetable stock. Add the brown sugar and mustard. One the liquid begins to bubble, add the flour/butter mixture. Stir until the flour has been fully incorporated and the sauce begins to thicken. Slice the pork and serve with the pan sauce.

*These usually come in vacuum-sealed pouches, in the meat section. Typically, one could assume that pork tenderloin was a relatively cheap cut of meat, though this particular tenderloin, purchased at WF and certified "organic," was $10/lb. Pork tenderloin is an incredibly flavorful cut of meat, though I have found it is prone to drying out. Enter the brine. Brining ensures that the meat retains plenty of moisture even after baking in the oven. This was my first experience brining for over 12 hours. I've always been afraid that the high concentration salt solution would somehow "oversalt" the meat. This is definitely not the case. A pork tenderloin can definitely stand up to a full day in the brine.