Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Broiled Pork Tenderloin in Barbecue Sauce with Pan Roasted Potatoes

I have always wanted to try real barbecue. Smoking whole cuts of meat at low and slow was something I really wanted to do; however, it was not possible for me at a time since I need some wood chips that will go along the cooking process. It took me around 4 months before I was able to get my hands on some hickory wood chips! For starters, I need small cuts of meat and thought that tenderloin would be a good start. Then, an obstacle happened. Our outdoor griller has already been in the cemetery since last week! I have clearly forgotten about that! So, instead of smoking the tenderloin, I came up with this: Broild Pork Tenderloin in Barbecue Sauce with Pan Roasted Potatoes.

There's the preparation *sugar and worcestershire were not included in the photo, forgot about them in the line-up*



First, quarter the potatoes. I used the small potatoes because the large potatoes were like overpriced at this moment due to the typhoons. Then, throw them in a pot with salt in it and boil them. Why add salt? Well, Heston Blumenthal said that adding salt when boiling potatoes will give your potatoes better texture when roasted. And if Heston Blumenthal said it, it must be done.



While the potatoes cook, mince some garlic.



And also mince some onions.



By this time, drain the potatoes from the boiling pot and set it aside. Make sure they have been cooked halfway.



Now, let's start making the sauce. Get a sauce pan and put some olive oil. Give the garlic and onions some quick saute.



Then, add some red wine vinegar. Let it cook until the acidity goes out.



Add some whole peppercorn and a bay leaf.



Then add some water.



Add a little bit of worcestershire.



Then bring in the ketchup. I prefer Heinz cause for me, it is the best :D It the best mouth feel among the rest of the ketchup I have tried.



Lastly, add some sugar. Brown sugar for color.



Give the whole sauce a quick stir and let it simmer so that flavors infused.



Now, let's start with the pork. Grab your whole tenderloin and put it on your cutting board. But the ends of the tenderloin so that the volume of tenderloin looks even for even cooking. You don't want to have some part overcooked and some part undercooked.



Melt some butter on your pan.



Sear the tenderloin.



Sear them on both sides. Season them as this happens ofcourse.



When all sides are seared, put them on your cutting board again.



Slather it with some mustard and pierce a meat thermometer through the thickest part of the meat. Then throw it in a broiler.



Lastly, let's finish the potatoes. Melt some butter on the pan again.



Put some minced garlic and onions and give it a quick saute.



Then add the drained potatoes.



If possible, throw in some fresh herbs. I used tarragon in my case.



Potatoes are done. Remember our sauce? Drain them.



You need to drain them so that you can get a clean color of the sauce.



Serve



Opinion

Pan roasted potatoes doesn't work! You really have to roast them in the oven to get the crisp texture that I was looking for, but, the texture of the potatoes were better than expected. It was pretty soft. It was starchy or crumbly.

The tenderloin was cooked really well. Mustard paired with the barbecue sauce it gave a great flavor profile. The sauce had a good mouth feel and I liked the taste of olive oil in the barbecue sauce, however; I think I should have thinned it a little more.

Points for improvements are flavor and color. I think adding more green and something vibrant could make this dish presentable. Furthermore, I think adding some paprika or roasted bell peppers would have helped a lot with the flavor profile. :D

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