Pork Tenderloin with a Herb Crust and Horseradish Potatoes

I found myself underwhelmed with this. Pitty isn't it? I mean the beautiful pork tenderloins picked up during our buying fest at Lee Lee's Supermarket had been languishing in the freezer for just the right moment. By golly, I thought I'd found it.

The reviews for this particular dish were high - some even said outstanding, but I've had better. I mean there's almost an unlimited number of ways one can cook pork tenderloin; after all, it is the other white meat and failing anything else you can always make a dynamite sauce like we did a while ago with the bacon, onion, maple and bourbon. Maybe that's what it was missing - a bomb!

As for the potatoes - the big guy put all of this together and I merely watched and gave him my two cents worth. He even added more horseradish than was called for in the original instructions and, he cut the recipe in half because we only had a pound of our favorite mini potatoes. The horseradish flavor was barely noticable but these little mini pillows of starchy bliss are fabulous no matter how you look at 'em.

Here's the link  to the original recipe from Southern Living via myrecipes.com, and I'll reproduce what we cooked up yesterday for you, but I really think this is a WIP (work in progress). We even tried to jazz it up with some of the kicky habanero kumquat marmalade we cooked up last monthand it helped a bunch, for sure. If you are inclined to try the tenderloin,  you might want to slather some dijon mustard on the meat before you coat it with the herb/crumb mixture. It'll definitely up the flavor quotient.

Pork Tenderloin with an Herb Crust and Horseradish Roasted Potatoes (adapted from Southern Living via myrecipes.com)

To up the flavor quotient, you may want to slather some Dijon mustard on the pork tenderloins before coating them with the herbed crumbs

1 pound small fingerling potatoes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1-1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

1/3 cup chopped basil

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

3 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin

Preheat oven to 425. Spray broiler pan or sheet pan with wire rack on top with cooking spray. Combine butter, horseradish, salt and pepper in a bowl. Wash and dry potatoes well, then add to bowl and toss well to coat. Arrange potatoes on sheet pan leaving room for tenderloin. Set aside.

Combine bread crumbs, basil, olive oil, pepper, salt, thyme and parsley. Rinse tenderloin with water and coat on all sides with herb mixture. Place tenderloins on sheet pan, arranging them so they do not touch. Roast for 25 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are cooked and tenderloins reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Rest meat for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Download Pork Tenderloin with a Herb Crust and Horseradish Roasted Potatoes

Comments

[pam]

I hate when you have high expectations and end up underwhelmed.

[Nanan]

Yep - I don't see too much of a heat factor associated with the herb crust on that pork... bet the big guy reached for the hot sauce at the table!

[Mags]

I'm just impressed that you cook on weekends! Our pizza from last night was dinner again tonight. And since I can't manage to dig my nose out of the gnache ice cream, that was dessert all day!

[June]

Pam - true isn't it.

Lea - believe it or not, the big guy thought it was OK, particularly with the addition of some Kicky Kumquat Marmalade with all the habaneros in it.

Mags - I'm like the postman - rain or shine, I'm a cookin' fool and when I'm not, the big guy fills in. We just like to EAT! As for chocolate, over the weekend I admit I ate the rest of last Easter's bunny that I had hiding in the freezer. LOL