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Roasted Pork Tenderloin (and Better Steamed Broccoli).

  • Yield: 2 tenderloins, serves 6-8

Ingredients

For the spice rub:

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • 1 teaspoon herbs (the original recipe called for poultry seasoning, which I don’t have, so I use pinches of whatever I have on hand to equal about 1 teaspoon – oregano, thyme, sage, parsley…)
  • 1 teaspoon onion flakes
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

For the pork tenderloin:

  • 2 pork tenderloins (about 2 lbs total)
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

For the broccoli:

  • 1 head broccoli (trim the woody stem down and slice into long “trees”)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the spice rub:

  1. Mix the rub ingredients together well (it’s easy to use your fingers since you’ll be sprinkling it on the meat and rubbing it in anyway) and rub evenly over the pork tenderloins. If you have time, refrigerate for 30 min-1 hour before grilling or roasting.

For the pork tenderloin:

  1. To roast the pork tenderloins, preheat the oven to 425 and heat the oil over medium heat in a 12″ ovenproof skillet (I use a cast iron skillet). Brown on three sides, 2 minutes per side, for 6 minutes total. Flip to the fourth side and transfer to the oven to roast about 10-15 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Let the meat rest 10 minutes before slicing.

For the broccoli:

  1. To steam the broccoli, combine the water, oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and add the broccoli directly to the water. Cover and steam for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Allow the broccoli to continue to steam for a few minutes, then toss to coat with the garlic and red pepper.

Notes

Even with the cayenne, the pork isn’t too spicy for my daughter, but feel free to adjust it up or down. If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, you can transfer the pork tenderloins to a foil-lined baking sheet for the roasting step. If you’re using the oven for something else, the tenderloins can roast at 400-450 degrees, although it will take a few minutes more/less as a result.

Spice rub recipe from Tasty Kitchen; roasting method from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe; broccoli recipe from Melissa d’Arabian at the Food Network