As discussed, assuming you’ve been following along closely, I recently acquired an Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker. I first fell in love with this method of cooking when I discovered the Sumac Chicken at Fairouz. I wouldn’t typically go in for chicken at a restaurant, but the example from the Middle Eastern restaurant on Somerset is succulent, juicy, and saturated with flavour.
If you’re not familiar, sous vide cooking is a process that sees you vacuum seal whatever it is you’re planning to cook, submerging it in a water bath that is set a precisely controlled temperature as the water circulates around the bag.
The end result is an unprecedented moist and tender final product that is cooked consistently throughout. For the record, this is not a sponsored post, I’m just legitimately impressed by the results of this cooking method.
Until recently, this method was only possible in professional kitchens but thanks to the miracle of technological innovation, home cooks can now embrace the sous vide experience at home with a simple wand that clamps to the side of a large pot, and a vacuum sealer (although you can hack it with a ZipLoc bag and a bit of finesse).
In the past, it was the rare cut of pork tenderloin that would get me excited but the result coming out of the sous vide was perfection. I followed the guide from the Anova Culinary app to get a sense of what temperature and for how long I should cook my pork tenderloin to achieve the desired result.
I opted for a halfway point between the suggested 130 degrees for medium rare and 140 for medium, cooking mine at 135 degrees for one hour. I finished the pork with a quick sear in a cast iron pan to brown up the exterior and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing into it.
The result was the most tender and moist cut of pork tenderloin I’ve ever consumed.
Before throwing it into in the pot, I seasoned the pork with a dry rub and let it marinade for six hours in the fridge after vacuum sealing. The rub gave it a nice heat that pairs nicely with the fresh salsa that adds a slight hint of acidity from the tomatoes, touch of heat from the jalapeño, and crispness from the pepper.
This dish feeds a crowd or will leave you with plenty of leftovers to get creative with!
Sous Vide Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Salsa
- 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 lbs pork tenderloin
- 3 medium tomatoes seeded and diced
- ½ sweet yellow pepper diced
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
- ½ jalapeño pepper minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- Salt
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Combine brown sugar, ancho powder, paprika, salt, cumin and pepper in a small bowl. Place pork roast in shallow dish and pat dry with paper towel. Press spice mixture all over pork roast. Vacuum seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes up to one day.
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Preheat a water bath using your sous vide precision cooker to 135 degrees. Place sealed bag of pork tenderloin in the water bath and cook for one hour.
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Remove pork from water bath and bag. Preheat a cast iron pan over medium high heat on your stovetop, add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once pan is hot, add pork to the pan and sear for 1-2 minutes per side, until browned on all sides. Remove pork to cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes.
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For the salsa, while the pork cooks, combine tomatoes, yellow pepper, onion, jalapeño, lime juice and salt to taste in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
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Slice hot pork across the grain and serve with fresh salsa.
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Let reserved pork roast cool, then wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Store salsa in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Recipe adapted from: MacKenzie, Jennifer. “Chili-Rubbed Pork Loin Roast with Fresh Salsa.” Food & Drink. Summer 2019.
Looks delicious! Pork tenderloin is my all time favorite meat….cook it for me! xoxo
Yvonne, I am so excited for this recipe. We don’t eat too much meat these days but every now and again, we love a good pork tenderloin. I love everything about these flavours together and can’t wait to give it a try.
Excellent, perfectly cooked (we did 2h at 135 instead of 1h but that may not make a difference). Even our super picky 8y old loved it. Little bit of spice. We didn’t have ancho Chilli powder so we used regular chili powder plus 1tsp of crushed red pepper flakes.