The USDA’s decision finally aligns federal cooking guidelines with real-world practices. Savvy home cooks and restaurant chefs recognized long ago that pork production methods had improved, and they had grown weary of cooking some of pork’s leanest and most prized cuts — such as pork loin, pork chops and especially pork tenderloin — way past medium. Eating those cuts of pork cooked to 160 degrees or above was akin to stuffing cotton balls in your cheeks and then gnawing on shoe leather.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s new 145-degree recommendation aligns pork with the same standard as beef, veal and lamb. The agency also called for letting the pork rest for three minutes after removing it from the grill or oven. The meat’s temperature will remain constant or rise during that period, killing any pathogens, USDA officials said.
“With a single temperature for all whole cuts of meat and uniform three-minute stand time, we feel it will be much easier for consumers to remember and result in safer food preparation,” USDA Under Secretary Elisabeth Hagen said in a statement. Ground meats from any source should still be cooked to 160 degrees, and all poultry products should be cooked to 165 degrees, according to USDA guidelines.
Jack Gridley, who oversees meat and seafood for Dorothy Lane Market’s three Dayton-area stores, said he’s happy to see the old rules of cooking pork “until it’s gray and falling apart” fall by the wayside, and noted that top-notch restaurants have been cooking certain pork cuts to medium for years.
The USDA made the change after several years of research and talks with producers and food safety experts. Ceci Snyder, vice president of marketing for the National Pork Board, told the Associated Press that producers proposed the change in 2008, based in part on new production methods, improved feed and housing of the animals that reduced the risk of pathogens.
Snyder said it would take time before people feel comfortable eating pork with a touch of pink. “Those myths die hard,” she said.
Cooking pork
Some pork cuts — such as pork shoulder (Boston butt) and babyback or spare pork ribs — require low-and-slow cooking to break down connective tissue and tenderize the meat. And no one wants their bacon medium-rare. But lean pork tenderloin — which can be as tender as beef tenderloin at half the cost, and which benefits nicely from marinades and rubs — is at its best with at least a touch of pink in the center, and dries out quickly if cooked to medium-well or beyond.
For the soy-marinated pork loin, prepare a marinade of soy sauce, lemon juice, grated fresh garlic, grated fresh ginger and brown sugar, tasting it as you add ingredients until the marinade’s flavor is balanced among the salty-sweet-sour components and appeals to your taste. Add a few dashes of olive or vegetable oil. Divide the tenderloins and marinade among some gallon ziplock plastic bags and marinate for four hours in the refrigerator. Remove, shake off excess marinade, and grill to desired doneness — about 145 degrees will leave some pink in the middle. Alternately, roast uncovered in a preheated 400-degree oven until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145 degrees, 17 to 20 minutes (can vary based on thickness of tenderloins).
Here are three other pork tenderloin recipes, starting with Wiley’s Meadowlark recipe, followed by two that first appeared in “Gourmet” magazine and which are still available online at Epicurious.com.
PORK JEZEBEL
Recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Wiley, chef-owner of Meadowlark Restaurant in Washington Twp.
Note: This recipe has been a mainstay on Meadowlark’s menu for years, and stuck on the menu after the restaurant’s move to a new location at 5531 Far Hills Ave., Washington Twp. Meadowlark’s chef-owner Elizabeth Wiley said both she and her customers are big fans of the finished product, and Wiley said it’s relatively simple to prepare.
Ingredients
1/2 cup peach jam
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 pork tenderloins, trimmed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
Instructions:
In a small bowl, make the peach-horseradish jam by whisking together the first four ingredients until combined. Cut each pork tenderloin into 6 equal pieces. Gently pound the tenderloin pieces until uniformly thin (about 1/2-inch thick). Season with salt and pepper.
Heat peach-horseradish jam and heavy cream together in a wide, shallow pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce until thick, about 4 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Meanwhile, heat a fry pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Add pork medallions when oil is heated. Sear on one side 3 minutes, then turn over and sear on opposite side about 2-3 minutes.
Plate pork medallions and generously ladle with about 1/4 cup of hot Jezebel Sauce.
FENNEL-RUBBED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH ROASTED FENNEL WEDGES
Recipe from “Gourmet” magazine February 2009 edition, also available at epicurious.com
Note: Fennel bulb is available year-round in Dayton-area grocery stores, making this a good choice any season. I use a pinch or two of dry red-pepper flakes or smoked paprika to give the sauce an added dimension.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 pound pork tenderloin
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed, reserving fronds
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, with rack in middle.
Crush fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle or wrap in a kitchen towel and crush with bottom of a heavy skillet.
Pat pork dry, then sprinkle with crushed fennel seeds and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cut fennel bulbs lengthwise into 1/2-inch wedges.
Heat oil in a 12-inch oven-proof heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown pork on all sides, about 6 minutes total, then transfer to a plate. Saute garlic and fennel wedges in skillet until fennel is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add wine, stirring and scraping up brown bits, then stir in broth and butter. Put pork on top of fennel and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, about 15 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, transfer skillet to stove top (handle will be hot) and boil, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid has evaporated. Stir in lemon juice and 1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds. Thinly slice pork and serve over fennel with sauce.
PORK WRAPPED IN SAGE AND PROSCIUTTO
Recipe from “Gourmet” magazine, September 2005 issue, available online at Epicurious.com
Note: This recipe is a splurge, and worth every penny.
Pancetta — an Italian version of unsmoked bacon — can be used in place of prosciutto.
Ingredients:
12 thin slices prosciutto (about 1/4 lb)
16 large fresh sage leaves
2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Slightly overlap long sides of 6 prosciutto slices on work surface with short ends nearest you and scatter eight sage leaves crosswise on top.
Pat 1 pork tenderloin dry and sprinkle all over with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put meat on top of sage across middle of prosciutto (tucking end of tenderloin underneath if very thin), then wrap prosciutto around pork to enclose. Wrap second tenderloin in same manner.
Transfer tenderloins, seam sides down and 2 inches apart, to a small roasting pan and brush prosciutto all over with oil, then roast until thermometer inserted in center of meat registers 150 degrees Fahrenheit (Note: stop at 145 degrees if you prefer, as I do, your pork tenderloin medium rare), about 25 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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