In a recent conversation with my older brother, who has lost a lot of weight, he said, “Hey, Sue, you got any good healthy pork recipes? Cause if I eat another piece of chicken I’m gonna start clucking.” Since I didn’t want to see my brother begin clucking (any clucking after the age of forty is just unseemly), I suggested he try pork tenderloin. I explained how I had just written about healthy pork tenderloin recipes and how ounce for ounce, it’s as lean as skinless chicken. Then I began listing all the reasons I love pork tenderloin and how I cook it all the time.
Here are 10 Reasons to Love Pork Tenderloin:
1. It’s readily available at super markets, so you don’t have to scurry from store to store to find it.
2. It’s honest food. Since it’s boneless and has little fat, there’s no waste. So if you pay for a 1.5 pound pork tenderloin, you’ll be eating a 1.5 pound pork tenderloin.
3. It’s one of the quickest-cooking cuts of meat available. When sliced into cubes or medallions, it can be pan-seared or grilled in mere minutes.
4. It’s endlessly versatile. Roast it, grill it, slice it, stuff it, cut it into cubes for stews and soups or skewer them for kebabs.
5. It’s lean and healthy. Ounce-for-ounce, pork tenderloin is as lean as skinless chicken breast. Plus, The American Heart Association recently certified pork tenderloin as a heart-healthy food with its iconic red check mark.
6. It’s virtually impossible to mess up, so it’s ideal for kitchen novices.
7. It just got juicier. Last year the USDA issued new guidelines for cooking pork: Pork chops, roasts, and tenderloins can safely be cooked to medium-rare at 145 degrees, not 160, followed by a 3-minute rest period.
8. It’s an economical and attractive company dinner dish. Roasting it whole and serving it on an oblong platter trimmed with roasted vegetables will always impress your guests.
9. It’s delicious hot, at room temperature, or even leftover, so it’s ideal for a potluck or a picnic.
10. It won’t cause you to cluck.
For dozens more delicious pork tenderloin recipes, visit Pork Be Inspired.
Photo credit, FCC: alancleaver_2000.
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I love, love, love meat and it can be cooked in many ways. But sometimes I look for the beefy taste and smell