French Fridays with Dorie: Fresh orange pork tenderloin

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (Fresh orange pork tenderloin, p 273) included a couple of firsts for me.  Not because of the pork with fruit combo – that’s a no-brainer for me.  But, firstly, because I NEVER think that a pork tenderloin is going to be a “quick meal” – mostly because many of my favourite ways to prepare it involve marinating for a few hours or overnight. This recipe calls for no marinade whatsoever.  Secondly, because I would NEVER think to cut up a beautiful pork tenderloin. I had to read the recipe a couple of times to make sure I was doing what Dorie intended.

The pork was cut into what was for me, four evenly (about 5-6 cm long and 3-4cm in diameter) pieces. Ok so this was already better than the thin rounds I had first imagined on reading the recipe.  These were browned a little in oil and butter then onions, orange zest and juice and cardamom were added and then the pork was covered and cooked at a low heat for about 8 minutes, then I added orange segments and cooked it for a couple minutes more (this is less than Dorie recommends but I guess it all depends on the thickness of your pieces and how you like your pork cooked – in my case – I knew I could get away with it being undercooked a little as it would continue to cook in the pan as I fussed with my camera LOL!). I added some fresh clementine pieces to the pan for colour too.

And how was this? Well it was just fine. By the time I had reheated it for lunch a while later it was definitely a little more cooked than we both like (but that’s what you get when you need the photo before people are ready to eat!) but when I was plating it for the picture, it was perfect.  This is a dish that definitely needs you to keep a close eye on it. I wonder about making the sauce ingredients into a marinade and marinating the whole tenderloin overnight. I find a tenderloin roasted in the oven easier to cook (as in, I know how long it takes more or less and if in doubt, I can use the meat thermometer) whereas this could go from perfectly “done” to overdone in the blink of an eye.  In any case, we both loved the flavours of this (the cardamom was a little subtle – I might add more next time) and I’d like to try this method (and flavours) with something that lends itself to pan roasting like pork chops – I think that might work too.

As a bonus, I think it was a pretty pork dish and you don’t often see that, right? 😉

French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs (this week you can find the recipe online here), rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself then join us here!

42 thoughts on “French Fridays with Dorie: Fresh orange pork tenderloin”

  1. Marinating would be the perfect way! It lacked some flavor, but it looks so vibrant Mardi! Have a great weekend!

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  2. I thought this could have used a little more cardamom, but otherwise, I liked it. I do like the idea of giving this some marination time – that would do some nice things in the flavor department! Yours certainly looks delicious! The clementines do add a nice fresh color to the dish – well done!

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  3. As beautiful as this looks, I’m going to stick with you and your mom. Her recipe actually introduced me to the ease and foolproof nature of pork loin. It has since become a staple and I’ve subjected the meat to all sorts of marinade variations without a dud among them. I’m a big fan of the meat/fruit combos too, although I know the very phrase sets some people on edge.

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  4. i have seen a lot of these by now but i really love that you chose to photograph it in the pan like that. style-wise i really liked that!

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  5. I like the way you photographed in the pan also and I also agree with the cooking method…I prefer oven roasting the tenderloin. All in all, I found it quite tasty though.

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  6. I’ve only cooked pork tenderloin whole before, but I liked the seared medallions. I just didn’t enjoy the sauce the way I wanted to. It did make a beautiful dish though.

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  7. I cut the recipe in half because I know that when pork is leftover it is never as delicious as
    when freshly cooked. Your dish looks wonderful and the addition of the clementine
    was a great idea. Hubby and I have been enjoying those clementines so much this
    season, I don’t know what we will do when it is over. Have a great weekend.

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  8. You said so much more clearly what I tried to say and was thinking. When I was a kid, my Mom carefully cooked pork chops for quite a long time because no one wanted to eat raw pork back then. Now that those little porkers are lean, it’s a different story but, for good measure, I “gently simmered” the pork medallions for 12 minutes (yeah, I really did) and, thennnnnn, I took pictures and my pork was tough. Still very good and edible but not tender. Like you, I think I can create the same taste without cutting it into pieces. A meat thermometer. I always use it on my roasts and it never failes me. More cardamon. Okay, I’ll keep that chopped onion in the recipe. Still a good combination, I think. I am going to get some Paris questions off to you next week, Mardi. Thanks for letting me do that.

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  9. This sounds and looks like a beautiful and flavorful dish. I love the spices and aromatic used in the recipe. 🙂 The clementine really pop in your pictures. So beautiful. I just got some wonderful citrus from my In-Law’s garden. Can’t wait to make this.

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  10. I’m with you on the firsts involved here. I’ve since done a version of this roasted and the tenderness comes back to the tenderloin. Still, good to know you can do it this way but I doubt I would again. Does make for a colorful pan though and you have captured that greatly!

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  11. Yours turned out lovely- if someone didn’t read the post they would think this was an amazing dish (not that you were complaining at all – it is just that I think most folks agreed this was not “amazing”). It has been interesting to me to read everyone compare how the usually cook their tenderloin, how long and so on – so many similiarities are found yet I am also picking up new ideas. As usual on a “French Friday”. PS- I got my crown this week and am now happily chomping through Conversation Heart candy….hope your tooth is all better too !!

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  12. I agree that it needed more cardamom and I’d definitely prefer this sauce as a marinade for a roasted tenderloin. It is a pretty dish, though, especially as you photographed it in the pan.

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  13. I had to think about the “thin rounds” myself and I went with cutting it into four servings, and really, we could have gotten away with just cutting the tenderloin in half! 😉 great job and beautiful as always Mardi!

    Reply

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