What temperature to cook pork tenderloin to?

The internal temperature for rare pork tenderloin is 145 degrees. It must be cooked until at least this. Medium is closer to 150 degrees and Well Done is 165 degrees. I prefer to pull my pork tenderloin from the oven at about 155 degrees. It's still really tender at this point.

Why such a large range for cook time?

With meats, you need to rely more on internal temperature versus time cooked. There a lot of factors that can make this vary, from how many times you open the oven, oven temp ranges, differences in cuts and thicknesses of meat, etc. Use an internal thermometer to get the perfect result.

Should I cook pork tenderloin fast or slow?

Pork tenderloin is best cooked quickly in the oven baking temps, around 375 degrees. This results in a tender juicy meat! It's like the pork version of a filet mignon and it doesn't have a whole lot of fat on it, making slow cooked not the best choice.

Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin - Simply Made Eats

Description

This Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin is a great weeknight meal ready in just 45 minutes, with little prep required. This tender pork is seared in the dutch oven with simple vegetables and seasoning, then finished in the oven for an easy dinner!

Ingredients

Scale

1 (1-1.5 lb) Pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup baby carrots or 2 whole carrots cut into pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into large chunks
2 garlic cloves peeled, whole
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
Optional: Serve with my Pork Roast Gravy Recipe

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to combine. Rub the spice mixture all over the outside of the pork.
Heat a large dutch oven (preferably 5, 6 or 7 quart) to medium heat on the stovetop. Add in butter and olive oil and allow it to heat up. Place the pork tenderloin into the dutch oven and cook for 3 minutes, flip it over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and thyme all around the pork tenderloin. Cover and bake for 20-35 minutes until the temperature reaches 155 degrees.
Remove the pork tenderloin from the dutch oven, transfer to a platter and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Optional: Make my 10 minute pork gravy recipe.
Cut into slices. Serve and enjoy!

Equipment

instant read thermometer

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dutch oven

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Notes

In step 2, if the butter starts burning, lower the heat a bit.
If you want to eat the vegetables too, after removing the pork tenderloin, cover the dutch oven and continue to bake them for 10 to 15 minutes to soften the carrots, while the pork is cooling.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American