Garlic-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

Step 1

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Step 2

Rinse pork tenderloin in cool water and trim any excess fat or the silvery membrane on the meat. Pat dry and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Step 3

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rosemary leaves, mustard, garlic, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Carefully rub all over pork roast, particularly on top. Place in heated oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer reaches 155 degrees. When the meat is done, remove from oven and allow to stand 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Step 4

Now…say your instant read thermometer angered you and you threw it away and then you find yourself roasting a pork tenderloin, cursing yourself for throwing your thermometer away, then realizing a thermometer that doesn’t tell the correct temperature wouldn’t do you any good, anyway. All of this is completely hypothetical, of course. Anyway, if it boils down to the fact that you don’t have a thermometer, you’re going to have to do a little guesswork because if you overcook it, it will be tough, but you also don’t want to get sick. The tenderloin I used this go-around was definitely on the large side and I roasted it for about 25-30 minutes; the center wasn’t pink, but it was juicy and the ends were definitely done. For a smaller piece of meat, start around 20 minutes and go from there. Of course, large and small is all relative and a good meat thermometer is definitely an asset in your kitchen, so just be sure to make it known when you do find a good thermometer that you have very little tolerance for inaccurate temperature measurements…