RECIPE: Pork Tenderloin
With roasted onion, pickled cabbage, sweet mustard mayo, white wine sauce, and pulled pork fritters. Or basically a fancy deconstructed pulled pork hot dog.
A big welcome to more new readers! Delighted to have you with us.
It was a struggle deciding what to change from the restaurant version of this recipe - everything was perfect! But realistically, I had to accept most people weren’t going to make home cured sausages.
I love this recipe because it converts very easily into an express version by leaving out the pulled pork fritter. The tenderloin, roasted onion, white wine sauce and mayo can be on the table in just one hour!
A few things I hope you’ll take away from this recipe:
The magic of nostalgic flavour combinations - It sounds crazy, but trust me, taking a bite of everything on this dish is going to make you think of a hot dog - salty pork, caramelised onion, pickles, and sweet mustard.
Choux pastry and pommes dauphine - Techniques that aren’t actually that difficult, with the added bonus that you’ll be able to bake homemade eclairs after this.
An appreciation for pork collars - Possibly the best cut for pulled pork - there’s a reason why it’s known as ‘the money muscle’ in competition barbecue.
2 minute mayonnaise - Okay, it’s closer to 5 minutes because of the extra time it takes me to find the hand blender and measure out the ingredients, but still!
If you do try the recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Happy cooking!
Pork Tenderloin with Pulled Pork Fritter, Roasted Onion, Pickled Cabbage, and Sweet Mustard Mayo
Serves 4
Note: I’m very conscious that this is a beast of a recipe. But the vast majority of the work is in the pulled pork fritter; everything else is relatively simple. This recipe also works well as a weekend project, as you can prepare the fritter, pickles, and mayo a day in advance. You can make this recipe without one, but I do highly recommend having a sous vide here.
Total time: 11 hours / Active time: 3 hours
Sweet mustard mayo
Total time: 5m
This is based off the great two minute mayo recipe by J. Kenji López-Alt. It’s more sorcery than recipe if I’m being honest. If you’re pressed for time, just mix store-bought mayo with some mustard and add a bit of sugar or honey - I won’t tell anyone.
Equipment:
Extremely optional: Piping bag with piping nozzle
Ingredients:
1 tsp English mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
50ml lemon juice (about half a lemon’s worth)
1 whole egg (large)
250ml vegetable oil
To finish
2 tbsp English mustard
2 tsp caster sugar (about 10g)
Fine sea salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
Place 1 tsp mustard, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and egg in the beaker. Pour oil over the top of the ingredients, and allow to settle for 10-15 seconds. Place blender head at the bottom of the beaker, and blend on high speed, keeping the head stationary. As the mayo forms, slowly and gradually raise and tilt the blender head, until all the oil has emulsified into the mayo (see video below).
Tricks & Techniques: If your mayo breaks and becomes watery, don’t throw it out. Let everything settle so the oil separates out, and start again.
Stir in the sugar and remaining mustard using a spoon, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to dissolve the sugar and salt. Refrigerate until needed.
For The ‘Gram: For aesthetics, use a piping bag to plate the mayo - I pipe with a quick, continuous up-down motion to create the ripple effect in the main picture.
Pickled cabbage
The pickled cabbage is ready to eat in 2 hours, but ideally, pickle in the fridge for 1-2 days. This isn’t a fermented pickle, so it needs to be refrigerated, and will be good for up to 2 weeks. It won’t go bad, but the texture will become mushy if you keep it much longer.
Total time: 3h to 2 days / Active time: 10m
Equipment:
Medium saucepan
Large jar
Ingredients:
1 Chinese cabbage
250ml cider vinegar
1 tsp powdered turmeric
100g caster sugar (about 4 tbsp)
15g salt (about 1 tbsp)
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
A handful of dill (3-4 large sprigs)
Method:
Put the cider vinegar, turmeric, caster sugar, salt, and garlic in a saucepan, and cook on medium, stirring until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from heat and add the dill to infuse. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Rinse the cabbage and chop roughly into large strips. Place cabbage in a large jar, and pour over the pickling liquor and dill. Top with a little water if needed to fill the jar. Leave to pickle in the fridge. Dry lightly on paper towels before serving.
Pulled pork fritter
Total time: 11h / Active time: 1h 40m
If you need to spread things out, you can make the dough and filling a day in advance and refrigerate, covered with cling film, and then construct the fritters on the day.
Equipment:
Stand mixer - you can also mix using a hand beater, or mix by hand using a spatula - it’ll just take a little longer
Sous vide - you can make an oven / pressure cooker / slow cooker pulled pork recipe if you prefer, I just think they’re more work than the sous vide
Medium, thick-bottomed saucepan - a thin pan risks burning the caramel
Dutch oven or deep fryer
Long-handled strainer or slotted spoon
Ingredients:
For the pulled pork filling
500g pork collar - pork shoulder is a perfectly fine substitute; pork cheek is epic (and what I used in the original recipe - it’s just a little harder to find sometimes)
1 tsp fine sea salt
70ml runny honey (around 100g)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (30ml)
2 tbsp barley malt extract (30ml) - treacle, molasses, or golden syrup are also fine
100ml chicken stock - I use Knorr Chicken Bouillon Paste
For the pommes dauphine
120ml water
50g unsalted butter
3g caster sugar
5g table salt
110g plain white flour (all-purpose flour), sifted
2 medium eggs, beaten
3 small-medium potatoes - to make 200g of mash; if in doubt, add more potatoes
To finish
1.5-2L frying oil - Depends on the size of your vessel; aim to fill at least 6cm of oil. I use vegetable / rapeseed oil.
Method:
Pulled pork filling
Lightly salt the pork collar, and sous vide at 88°C / 190°F for 8 hours.
When the pork collar is cooked, transfer it to a large bowl, and reserve the juices in the sous vide bag. Pull apart the pork with two forks. Resist the temptation to eat all the pork immediately. Cover, and refrigerate.
Heat the honey in a saucepan on medium heat until boiling and bubbling, cooking into a dark caramel, about 5 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, malt extract, and chicken stock. Simmer on medium heat until it reduces into a syrupy glaze, about 7-10 minutes.
Taste frequently - the mixture is dark, so it’s difficult to tell visually if it’s burning. The glaze will continue to thicken when it cools later, so it shouldn’t be super thick while it’s cooking - aim to undershoot a little on thickness.
Pour the glaze over the pulled pork to thinly coat it, and mix well. You may have more glaze than you need. You won’t need to use all the pulled pork, but that’s really just a bonus. Use the leftovers in sandwiches, pasta sauce, anything goes.
Pommes dauphine
Boil the potatoes skin-on until they offer little resistance when poked with a paring knife, about 30-40 minutes. Scoop out, and pass through a potato ricer, weighing out 200g.
Sift the flour. Place water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a boil, about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and dump in all the flour. Stir with a spatula to mix thoroughly and remove any lumps. The resulting dough is called a panada. Turn heat to low-medium, and cook until the panada comes away cleanly from the sides of the pan, about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and transfer panada to a mixer with the paddle attachment. Leave to cool slightly for 5 minutes (a good time to do some dishes). Mix on low speed and very slowly trickle in the beaten eggs. The eggs will initially be reluctant to combine, but keep mixing and they will incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula as needed. It should take 5-8 minutes to combine fully. You have now made choux pastry.
Weigh out 200g of choux and mix with the mashed potato using a spatula to make the pommes dauphine. Cover and refrigerate.
Fritters
Divide and shape the pommes dauphine into small balls (around 30g if you want to be precise, but I tend to just eyeball it). Divide and shape the pork mix into slightly smaller balls (around 25g)
Flatten the dough balls between your palms, then gently flatten and pull out the edges to make a flat disc that’s nearly big enough to wrap around the pork balls.
Place a pork ball in the middle of the disc, wrap, and then smush (technical term) the dough around so that the pork ball is completely sealed. Flatten the fritter slightly between your palms, and place on a dish or tray lined with parchment.
Repeat until you have constructed the desired number of fritters (I make 2 per person, and some extras for anyone who wants more). Cover loosely with cling film and refrigerate until needed.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven to 180°C / 356°F. Fry until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Remove carefully using a strainer, drain on kitchen paper and serve.
Roasted onion
Total time: 40m / Active time: 15m
Equipment:
Cast iron skillet or frying pan
Ingredients:
2 medium brown onions
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp butter (60g)
4 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Extremely, extremely optional: Sosa Airbag Porc Granet - it’s about £20 for a pretty big tub of pork scratching granules that you probably won’t use that much so I don’t expect many people to buy this. (That said, it does keep forever, tastes and looks great, and takes about 2 minutes to prepare - just pan fry with a bit of oil).
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F.
Cut the onions in half through the equator, leaving the skins on.
Heat oil in skillet on high heat, and place the onions cut side down and cook until heavily charred, about 6-8 minutes.
Add butter and thyme to pan, transfer to oven and roast for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and keep warm until ready to serve.
To assemble, turn the onions cut side up, remove the skins carefully with tongs (they should fall off easily). Sprinkle with chopped chives, and pork granet if using.
For The ‘Gram: Assemble the onions on a separate plate so you can sprinkle the chives and pork granet evenly. It’s much easier than trying to garnish directly on the serving plate.
White wine sauce
Total time: 25m
Equipment:
Medium saucepan
Whisk
Ingredients:
250ml pulled pork sous vide liquid or chicken stock
150ml dry white wine
1 sheet leaf gelatine (platinum grade is what you will most commonly find in stores)
3 tbsp butter (60g), cubed
Fine sea salt, to taste
Method:
Bloom the leaf gelatine in cold water for 4-5 minutes. Lift out the bloomed gelatine sheet and wring gently to remove excess water.
Meanwhile, heat the sous vide liquid / chicken stock and dry white wine in a saucepan on high heat until boiling. Add the gelatine and cook until reduced by roughly two thirds, about 20 minutes (timing may vary).
Add the butter and continue to boil and reduce, whisking occasionally until it emulsifies into a sauce that coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Pork tenderloin
Total time: 1h 10m / Active time: 10m
Equipment:
Sous vide - alternatively, you can roast in an oven as until it hits an internal temperature of 55°C / 131°F, but pork tenderloin is such a delicate cut that the oven result simply isn’t comparable to a sous vide in my view
Large skillet or heavy-bottomed frying pan
Ingredients:
2 medium pork tenderloins (about 250g per person)
1 tbsp paprika (smoked or sweet are both fine)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp English mustard
2 tbsp mustard seeds, roughly ground in a spice grinder, or roughly chopped
Method:
Mix the paprika, garlic powder and salt. Rub evenly on the pork tenderloins.
Seal the pork tenderloins in individual Ziploc or vacuum bags, and cook at 54°C / 129°F for 1 hour.
When the tenderloins are cooked, remove from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a skillet on maximum heat until very hot. Lay pork in skillet and turn occasionally until browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. Be very careful not to overcook at this stage.
Cut each tenderloin into 2 portions with a sharp knife, trimming off any excess from the ends. Spread a thin layer of mustard on the top of each portion (I find a small silicone brush is great for this, but the back of a spoon also works fine). Sprinkle the ground mustard seeds on the top. Plate up and serve immediately.
For The ‘Gram: Assemble the tenderloins on a separate chopping board or plate before transferring to individual serving plates. This way, you can sprinkle the mustard seeds evenly without getting any on the serving plate. It also has the added benefit of letting the tenderloins rest for a little bit, so you don’t get juices spilling out onto the serving plates.
To assemble and finish
This is a slightly hectic and challenging finish, as you need to move fairly quickly to keep everything warm. Visualise every step before final assembly, or enlist a volunteer for steps 4-5 while the tenderloin is being finished, so that the pork gets onto the plate nice and warm. Prioritise speed of getting the tenderloin from pan to plate. The fritters will stay fairly warm, and the onion can be held in the oven, so they are less of a concern.
Place pickled cabbage in the centre of individual serving plates.
Deep fry pulled pork fritters and drain on kitchen towels.
Finish tenderloin in skillet, portion and top with mustard crumb.
Spoon sauce on top of the pickled cabbage.
Assemble onion and place on the top right of each plate.
Place tenderloin portion on the left side of each plate.
Very quickly pipe or spoon the mayo, and arrange the fritters around the bottom right side of the plate.
Timing Grid
This grid is designed to help you plan your cooking if you’re making multiple components from the dish. Coloured blocks indicate active cooking time.
The sweet mustard mayo is right in the middle of the cook because there’s a natural timing gap. It’s fairly easy, but if you’re nervous about making an emulsion, you can make it at the start.
Most steps have some buffer built in; that said, this is not a leisurely cook. If things go very smoothly, you will be ahead of schedule - testing took me 2h 30m (most of the time saved was on the fritters).
As mentioned above, you can prepare the fritters and mayo in advance, and I recommend making the pickle 1-2 days before as well.
Express version
Equipment and Ingredients
Immersion blender - I have a cheap and cheerful Bosch that has lasted 6 years. It gets the job done but I am thinking about upgrading as it isn’t the most powerful.
Stand mixer - I’ve used my kMix for 4 years. It’s good but you need to be careful not to break the glass mixing bowl like I did. Wait for sales where it usually retails around £200. Secretly hoping for mine to break so I can upgrade to a KitchenAid.
Sous vide - Anova is the only brand I’ve used, and starts at £129 for the Nano. I have an old first gen Anova that’s going strong after 7 years. Amazon has cheaper options starting from £45, but I can’t attest to their quality. I’m a broken record, but in my opinion, a sous vide is THE best value piece of kitchen equipment - it makes guaranteed perfect food (a revelation for chicken breast and fish), and saves a ton of time. If you need more convincing, Serious Eats has a great piece.
Potato ricer - Key to a perfectly smooth mash. I prefer triangular ricers to cylindrical because there’s only one moving part, so they’re more durable.
Sugar / deep frying thermometer - I never deep fry without one.
Chicken bouillon- Better than stock cubes and stock pots, because it’s less salty, which gives you a lot more control over the final taste.
Sosa Airbag Porc Granet - Basically popcorn pork scratchings on demand. Pan fry with a little bit of oil for 2 minutes and they’re done. Usually cheaper from specialty ingredient websites.
Dislaimer: this is a little awkward, but I want to be 100% transparent so that you can have full confidence in my recommendations. I get paid from Amazon links as part of the Amazon Associate program. I will always check to see if the same product is cheaper elsewhere. I don’t receive payment from any other websites I link to. I will only ever link to brands and products that I personally use.
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