Pork Tenderloin in an Apple Maple Brine
I finally tried using a brine for my pork tenderloin before cooking it and I can’t believe I waited so long. It made this pork so tender, juicy, and flavorful. I let it sit in the brine for nearly 8 hours before rinsing it and patting it dry. I then seasoned the pork tenderloin with only freshly cracked pepper because I wanted to taste the flavors from the brine. There were subtle hints of salt, maple, and apple…it was so good. My kids could not get enough of this delicious pork and my husband and I loved it as well. I look forward to trying different brine recipes in the future for chicken, pork, and turkey.
Pork Tenderloin in an Apple Maple Brine:
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 cups of hot water
- 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cracked black peppercorns
How to Make Pork Tenderloin in an Apple Maple Brine
Stir the hot water and salt together until the salt is dissolved. Add the apple juice, syrup, sugar, and pepper. Pour brine into a large zip lock bag and seal. Place the bag into a large bowl of ice water to cool down.
Trim any excess fat from the meat and remove the silver skin carefully. Once the brine is cool, submerge the pork in the brine, making sure the meat stays under the surface during curing (use a heavy plate to weigh it down if necessary). Refrigerate the pork in the brine for 6-8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Remove pork from brine and rinse then pat dry. Season with freshly cracked pepper. Add pork to the skillet, cook for 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Place pan in the oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 155-160 degrees (medium) or until the desired degree of doneness.
Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe – For the Love of Cooking.net
Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net Adapted from RecipeZaar
I enjoyed this tenderloin, and will make it again, but will use less salt as I could taste more of that flavor in the end, thinner sections that I would have liked. In my opinion, a tenderloin is usually tender enough to not need a brine, BUT, I like the idea of using one to interject the apple and maple flavor, therefore I don’t think less salt would hurt the end result. I also went with the current USDA recommendations and cooked till the internal temperature was 145, then let sit 3 minutes before slicing.
I wanted to add, I paired this tenderloin with this Roasted Maple Apple Sauce. http://paperdollparade.blogspot.de/2012/09/on-cooking-roasted-applesauce.html
I love that you paired these two – it sounds absolutely delicious. Look forward to trying it!
I brined 10 kg of pork tenderloin with this recipe today sectioned into 4 equal sized roasts. They were in the brine for about 5 hours, washed, dried then seasoned with a Greek seasoning mix, pepper and garlic powder. I started them at 500F for 20 minutes then dropped the temperature to 350. I added a bit of water to each pan to create some liquid around the roasts. They roasted for 1 1/2 hours and the internal temperature was 145. I shut the ovens off and covered them with foil to rest. We carved them an hour later and the meat was done to perfection and moist. The juices from the roasts made a delicious broth for the meat and we also served applesauce. Oh my! It was terrific and we had 40 very happy diners! Thanks for the brine recipe!