Roasted Garlic Pork Tenderloin cooked and served in a flavorful sauce.
This Dutch oven recipe will help you to learn how to cook pork tenderloin in the oven.
Global Food Recipes
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What is pork Tenderloin?
Pork tenderloin is also known as fillet, which is long boneless meat cut from a pig.
It's the most tender and usually most expensive meat cut in any animal. The tenderloin should not be confused with the pork loin, these are two different meat cuts.
I have a recipe for a pork loin too and a pork loin roast with Sauerkraut, for those who love Dutch oven roasts.
This is a super simple, but flavorful, pork tenderloin roast. You will only need a handful of ingredients, and the meat doesn't need to be marinated in advance.
Ingredient Notes
- Pork Tenderloin — It's the most expensive pork meat cut. It's not the loin, these are two different meat cuts.
- Garlic Cloves — Fresh
- Onion — White or yellow onions are preferred, but you can switch it with purple/red onion or, if you want milder onion flavoring, with shallots or green onions (spring onions/scallions).
- Lard or Butter — If you can get lard, use that instead of butter.
- Broth — Vegetable Broth is a neutral choice that compliments all the pork flavors.
- Salt and Black Pepper
- Caraway or Cumin Seeds — Caraway is the better choice always. Only use cumin if you really can't get caraway seeds. That said, both taste very differently and yes, you need to use the seeds and not ground spice powder.
- Water and All Purpose Flour — to create a slurry (to thicken the sauce at the end)
Process Overview
This is a great recipe for beginners. I loved it and my sister loved it too because it taught her to cook pork fillet the right way in the oven.
Step 1
Peel and cut the garlic into halves or quarters lengthwise if they are large, slice the onion. Cut holes into the tenderloin and push garlic in. Season the pork.
Place lard (or butter), onion and tenderloin into the Dutch oven.
Step 2
Sear meat over medium to high heat on all sides.
Pour broth in and cover pot with a lid.
Step 3
Roast pork tenderloin until tender and cooked through.
Prepare a slurry by combining flour and water. Pour the slurry in, mix and finish roasting the meat. Serve up hot.
📖 Recipe
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Recipe
Ingredients
For the Roast
- 5 Pieces Garlic Cloves
- 2 Medium Onion
- 1.1 Pounds Pork Tenderloin
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- 1 Teaspoon Caraway Seeds Whole or Cumin Seeds
- 3 Tablespoon Lard or Butter
- 1¼ Cup Broth
For the Slurry
- ½ Cup Lukewarm Water
- 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
Instructions
- Peel garlic and cut it lengthwise into smaller, manageable pieces. Quarter or half large garlic cloves lengthwise.
- Peel and slice onion.
- Make some holes all over the pork tenderloin and push a garlic piece into each hole until all garlic has been used up.
- Season pork with salt, black pepper, and caraway seeds OR cumin (any of the two).
- Place lard (or butter) with the sliced onion into a large pot and keep pork tenderloin over that.
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit/ 200° Celsius.
- Place a large pot over the stove to sear the meat and onions first. Brown meat on all sides.
- Pour broth into the pot and mix it a bit in. Cover the pot.
- Place into the oven and roast pork first for about 20 mins at 400° Fahrenheit/ 200° Celsius.
- Prepare a slurry by combining flour and water.
- Pour after 20 mins cooking time (if you want it pink after 18 mins) the slurry into the pot and mix it in to create a thick sauce. Keep uncovered and finish cooking your meat for another 5–10 minutes, or until it's done, and you are satisfied with the doneness.
- Take out the meat when done and pour sauce over the meat. That will bring out the lovely color of the sear. Cut the meat into slices and serve up with the sauce and some vegetable sides.
Notes
Equipment
- 3.5" Paring Knife to stuff the meat with garlic
- 8" Chef Knife to slice the onion
- Dutch Oven We used an 8 qt cast iron unenameled roaster with lid, enameled is better for beginners so that it doesn't stick on.
- Wood or Bamboo Spatula to stir everything when searing
- Small Mixing Bowl to mix the slurry
- Meat Thermometer to check inner meat temperature (optional)
Nutrition
Serving
Pour some sauce in the pot over the meat before serving. That way it looks shiny, which will bring out the colors of the sear, and the meat will be juicy.
Cut the meat in slices before you intend to serve it.
I love to serve up my pork roast tenderloin with root vegetables such as roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, baked parsnip or roasted turnips.
Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes is a great side dish, as well as braised red cabbage.
Sauerkraut and dumplings is also an excellent choice to enjoy with pork.
Storing & Using Leftovers
You can keep leftovers cooled in an airtight container for up to 4 days in your fridge.
The cooked pork meat is already cooked but just need to be warmed up. That way you can easily use it as a flavorful addition to other meals.
You could add your tenderloin leftovers to your...
- Cuban sandwich — so gooood!
- Pasta — in a sauce or in a bake
- Rice — as in fried rice
- Quesadillas or tacos
- Ramen or other Asian noodle soups
FAQs
Roast your pork tenderloin for about 25–30 mins. The one in the picture roasted for 30 mins, and it's done. If you want it more pink, roast it for about 25 min more or less.
Roast at 400 Fahrenheit/ 200 Celsius.
Cook it covered for the first ⅔ of the cooking process. Then add the slurry and finish roasting it uncovered.
Yes! Searing brings out the wonderful flavors of the meat. It will have a lovely golden brown color on the outside, which looks nice too when you are serving up your meat.
Follow the heat and time instructions in the recipe. You can cut in to check if it's done to your liking. Another and even better idea is to get a meat thermometer. Poke the thermometer into the meat to see the inside temperature. For medium rare, at 145 Fahrenheit/ 60 Celsius, up to 160 Fahrenheit/ 70 Celsius Medium well done.
