This is a recipe for a pork tenderloin.
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 whole garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper coarsely ground
- 2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
- honey mustard sauce (optional)
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- Carbohydrate 82.1194182246514 g
- Cholesterol 737.08760125 mg
- Fat 58.4442316770237 g
- Fiber 5.35884376591994 g
- Protein 239.657257895803 g
- Saturated Fat 15.727180977078 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1464g)
- Sodium 5251.92589044229 mg
- Sugar 76.7605744587315 g
- Trans Fat 5.64822009679631 g
- Calories 1856 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Pour mixture into a large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Add the pork tenderloin. Seal the bag and make sure the pork is covered in the marinade. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, turning occasionally.
- Remove the pork from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature before cooking . Discard marinade. Preheat oven to 350°, place in oven, cook until a meat thermometer (inserted into thickest portion) registers 150° to 155°, this should take roughly 1 hour, but start checking after 40 minutes. Remove tenderloin from oven, and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
- To make the honey mustard sauce, whisk together honey and Dijon mustard. Slice pork and serve warm with honey mustard sauce, if desired.
Why does the meat need to marinate in a plastic bag rather than a metal bowl? Acidic ingredients like apple cider vinegar react chemically with reactive metals such as aluminum or cast iron, which transfers a metallic taste to the protein. A heavy-duty polyethylene zip-top bag eliminates this reaction while keeping the liquid in constant contact with the surface of the meat.
Acidity also breaks down surface proteins during long resting windows. Because this marinade features a high proportion of vinegar, limit the soak to twelve hours maximum to prevent the outer millimeters of the muscle from turning mushy. When transferring the meat to the oven, utilize a heavy rimmed baking sheet rather than a flat pan to catch escaping juices that would otherwise smoke on the oven floor.
Insert an instant-read digital thermometer horizontally into the thickest part of the tenderloin to avoid touching any internal fat pockets. Pull the meat from the heat source when internal sensors read 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Residual carryover cooking will push the final temperature up to 155 degrees while the meat rests undisturbed on a wooden cutting board for ten minutes.
Standard table salt contains anti-caking agents and finer grain sizes that dissolve too aggressively when measured by volume. Kosher salt flakes distribute evenly through viscous mixtures of honey and Dijon mustard without creating overly salty pockets.
