Fit to feed a crowd, this photo shows several batches of Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Vegetables, and Sage
The Occasion: Sunday night dinner with the family. A cozy recipe, this pork tenderloin is perfect for a fall evening surrounded by the ones you love. It’s not at all difficult, but takes a little time.
Another Kind of Occasion: This dish scales up easily for a crowd, whether it’s a party, potluck, or feast of any nature. Even better, you can make everything a day ahead and reheat just before serving.
Another Kind of Occasion: This dish scales up easily for a crowd, whether it’s a party, potluck, or feast of any nature. Even better, you can make everything a day ahead and reheat just before serving.
The Recipe: For this magnificent main course I relied heavily on a great recipe from Sweet Peas and Saffron and added a few touches of my own. Sweet Peas and Saffron is an excellent resource for plan-ahead meal prep – recipes, motivation, and more. Check it out!
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What Makes This Special: Say the words ‘home cooking’ and this dish is the picture that pops into my head: A big platter of sliced pork tenderloin with roasted root vegetables.
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Little gravy drizzled over the top. The dish just screams AUTUMN. Also COMFORT FOOD and YUM. The apples are a welcome surprise mixed in among the veggies.
Serve With: We made this to feed about 20 people, served buffet style, in collaboration with our friends and co-cooks. (That’s why the photos show such large quantities.) A crisp green salad and warm bread are all you need as go-withs, although we also served a vegetarian lasagna in case any of our diners were especially hungry or abstained from pork.
Kitchen Tip #1: I always brine boneless cuts of meat like pork or chicken. Not too long, just enough to seal in moisture and ensure juicy, tender meat after cooking.
My recipe below includes this step, but many others do not. You can always add it yourself if you’ve got the time – even 30 minutes will help, up to 2 hours depending on the quantity of meat.
My recipe below includes this step, but many others do not. You can always add it yourself if you’ve got the time – even 30 minutes will help, up to 2 hours depending on the quantity of meat.
Kitchen Tip #2: Since they do best with different cooking times, I prefer to roast the meat separately from the vegetables, bringing them together only for the final warm-up.
And if you want to get really picky, I would break it down even further, using multiple sheet pans to group similar veggies together.
And if you want to get really picky, I would break it down even further, using multiple sheet pans to group similar veggies together.
This totally defeats the purpose of a One-Pan-Meal, as the original recipe promotes. I get it, I’ve just added extra steps, more pans to wash, and at least 30 minutes to the timetable. Not usually what you’re looking for in a recipe.
But roasting the components separately provides the flexibility to cook the meat and each batch of veggies to the best possible degree of doneness. They can all go into the oven at once, but stir the pans’ contents every 15 minutes or so and remove them as the veggies become tender and golden brown. The apples need the least amount of oven time, carrots and parsnips next, and finally the onions and potatoes. Always use a meat thermometer to determine when the pork tenderloin is done. Aim for 145-150 degrees F.
But roasting the components separately provides the flexibility to cook the meat and each batch of veggies to the best possible degree of doneness. They can all go into the oven at once, but stir the pans’ contents every 15 minutes or so and remove them as the veggies become tender and golden brown. The apples need the least amount of oven time, carrots and parsnips next, and finally the onions and potatoes. Always use a meat thermometer to determine when the pork tenderloin is done. Aim for 145-150 degrees F.
I made this dish a day ahead, cooking everything in advance, storing the components separately, then combining everything for a final heat-up in the oven at 300 degrees F for approx. 20 minutes. Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
The Verdict: Really good! Our dinner guests were very happy with this meal, especially enjoying apple flavors in the sauce and mixed in with the roasted vegetables. This is the kind of meal that says Welcome Home to a family member, or We're Glad You're Here to close friends. Have a bite and you'll be saying Mm-mm good, right back!
| Print The Recipe- Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Vegetables, & Sage |
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Vegetables, and Sage
Recipe source: Sweet Peas and Saffron, lightly adapted by Ann Johnson @ Entertain The Possibilities
INGREDIENTS:
Meat
DIRECTIONS:
Recipe source: Sweet Peas and Saffron, lightly adapted by Ann Johnson @ Entertain The Possibilities
INGREDIENTS:
Meat
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 quarts cold water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons applesauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 3 parsnips, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 8 baby potatoes, quartered
- 8 fresh sage leaves, chopped (roughly one tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons white wine
DIRECTIONS:
- Brine the meat: Combine salt, sugar, and water in a large bowl or pitcher. Whisk hard until the salt and sugar are dissolved. (Note: Many brine recipes call for cooking the brine and then cooling it before use but this technique works just as well [and is quicker], just be sure the particulates are dissolved.
- Trim the tenderloins of excess fat and remove any silverskin. Then place the meat in a bowl or roasting pan. Pour the brine over, cover, and chill for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
- When ready, remove the meat from the brine, rinse, pat dry, and set aside.
- Mix the rub by combining all dry ingredients listed in the Rub section above. Set it aside.
- Mix up the glaze/sauce by combining all Sauce ingredients listed above and set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- Place the pork tenderloin into a roasting pan or sheet pan, brush on the olive oil, then sprinkle on the rub. Roast the pork for about 15 minutes.
- Spread several tablespoons of sauce onto the pork, turn the tenderloin over, and continue roasting until the temperature reaches 145-150 degrees, approximately 10 more minutes. When done, let the pork rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. If you are making the dish in advance, cool the pork then wrap the unsliced tenderloins in aluminum foil and chill overnight.
- For the vegetables: Combine the sage, vinegar, olive oil, wine, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with the seasonings and oil that you just combined. Arrange the vegetables and applies on sheet pans – either all together or separating similar types of vegetables together. (Carrots and parsnips together; potatoes and onions together; apples by themselves, because they will take less time to cook.)
- Roast the vegetables for about 15 minutes, then stir the veggies and roast again for 10-15 minutes. Remove the veggies as they are done – nice and tender, golden brown. Potatoes will probably take the longest.
- Cool the vegetables and apples once roasted. Combine them all into containers to store and chill overnight.
- When it is time to serve the meal, combine the vegetables, apples, and pork together in a roasting dish. Spread a little sauce over the pork and vegetables. Warm in a low oven (about 300 degrees F.) for about 15-20 minutes until heated through. Serve with remaining sauce.
What is your favorite autumn comfort food? Tell all in the Comments
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