A Healthier Pulled Pork, by Cooking with Corinna

I’ve been following a blog called Cooking with Corinna who has been doing the Ducan diet (you know, the French diet). Corinna has been very successful in losing weight following this diet and has decided to try and healthy up some of her favourites so that she doesn’t fall back into old bad habits and jeopardize her success. The first recipe she ‘healthed up’ was pulled pork. JT loves pulled pork but it’s not something I ever make at home, mainly because it is so unhealthy, or so I thought. Corinna’s method was relatively simple and frankly quite obvious but, for some reason I never thought of it myself. She simply chose a leaner and healthier cut of pork — pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder. Genius! I was inspired to make this pulled pork for dinner the other night and boy was it a success! Corinna used a slow cooker, but I chose to get my roasting pan on the grill outside (it was so hot and humid that day, I couldn’t bear even the slow cooker!). The trick is low and slow; I cooked our 300g tenderloin for almost four hours on 121°C (250°F). I turned it a few times and made sure it was always covered in BBQ sauce. You can use a store bought BBQ sauce, or you can throw one together in minutes like I did. Soooo easy. You will be surprised that you won’t be able to tell the difference from the unhealthy version! And if you want to keep it even healthier, choose a BBQ sauce based with fruit instead of sugar.

Thanks Corinna, this one will be a keeper, that’s for sure!

A Healthier Pulled Pork

Serves 3, 100 g portions

BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

Original recipe can be found here.

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup vinegar, preferably red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tbsp espresso coffee powder

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the flavours have blended well. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pulled Pork Ingredients:

Original recipe can be found here.

• 300 g pork tenderloin with silver skin and excess fat removed. This is a great video on preparing pork tenderloin. I removed ALL of the fat to keep it healthier.
• 1-2 tbsp canola oil (or an oil with a high flash point)
• 1 cup BBQ sauce, home made or store bought.
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat BBQ to 121°C (250°F).
2. Heat the roasting pan on the stove with the canola oil until almost smoking. Sear all sides of the tenderloin. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or two. Add the BBQ sauce and make sure that the tenderloin is brushed evenly with it. Place the covered roasting pan on the BBQ and turn off the heat directly below it. You’ll have to watch your BBQ so that the temperature maintained for the 4 hours is around 121°C (250°F).
3. Turn the tenderloin 3-4 times making sure it is always covered well with the BBQ sauce. I kept about 1 cup of water near the BBQ and added water as the sauce became thicker and evaporated. Eventually around 3.5 hours, the meat will literally fall apart and you will be able to mix it well with the BBQ sauce and cook it for the last half hour.
4. Serve warm or cold, on a salad, on a bun, or even in a fajita shell. Garnish with chopped cilantro and finely chopped green onions.

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The Best Beef Tenderloin EVER, and I kid you NOT!

Happy Holidays Everyone! I do hope you are enjoying this lovely spring long weekend. I am very fortunate because we decided to close the studio on Friday AND Monday, so it’s extra lovely for me.

We’re just finishing off our Paul and T weekend and this is the last new recipe I’m posting of that series. I’d like to begin the way I’ve ALWAYS began my posts about the Paul and T weekends: We’ve survived another Paul and T weekend (see here or here or here or here to name a few). And I say it with a heart full of love and gratitude that they visit us…but there is only so much eating and drinking one can take. We’re dieting for the next three weeks ;-)!

I had never made beef tenderloin before I saw this recipe in Epicurious a few years ago; now it’s my ‘go to’ recipe for tenderloin. I was intrigued by the recipe because the first instruction was this: “Sprinkle entire surface of beef tenderloin with coarse kosher salt. Place beef on rack set over large rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.” Really? Could that be true? It goes against everything I think the salt will do, like dry it out completely! If it wasn’t for the 173 comments, I probably would have passed right by, because I don’t know about your parts of the world, but beef tenderloin could cost as much as $60 to feed 6 people, and I’m not about to wreck a $60 piece of meat! But this recipe is A M A Z I N G! Really. And I think it would be even more amazing using some of the flavoured salts that Kristy (from Eat, Play, Love; our family food adventures) won in January during my first give away. Sadly I didn’t have any on hand but a quick trip to Longo’s this past weekend, I now have a lovely selection that I will definitely try the next time (the espresso salt or the Wild Porcini or the Black Truffle or the Aged Balsamic would be amazing for this recipe).

This was our first dinner together on Thursday night. We almost couldn’t stop eating it (that’s why the photo looks a little lame…I had to wait for the next day and this was all that was left!)

The port sauce is incredible and the meat was so tender you could cut it with a fork.

Roast Beef Tenderloin with Port Sauce

Beef Ingredients:

• 1 4- to 5-pound trimmed whole beef tenderloin, tail end tucked under, tied every 3 inches
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt (or infused salt as above)

Sauce Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
• 1 cup ruby or tawny Port
• 1 cup Homemade Beef Stock or Low Sodium Beef Stock

Roasting Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, coarsely cracked in mortar with pestle or in resealable plastic bag with mallet

Directions for beef:

1. Sprinkle entire surface of beef tenderloin with coarse kosher salt.
2. Place beef on rack set over large rimmed baking sheet. and refrigerate uncovered at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.

Directions for sauce:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, 3 minutes.
2. Add Cognac, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon cracked pepper and cook until liquid evaporates, 1 minute.
3. Add Port; bring to simmer. Add all of beef stock. Boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.
4. Strain into medium saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer.

Note: The sauce can be made 24 to 36 hours ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and chill.

Directions for roasting:

1. Let beef stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
2. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F.
3. Rub beef all over with oil; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns, pressing to adhere. Return beef to rack on baking sheet and roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F for medium-rare (135°F to 140°F in thinnest part), about 30 minutes.
4. Remove roast from oven and let rest 15 minutes.

Note: Several comments suggest that you sear the beef, but I did not do that and it was still incredibly succulent and tender.

Plating:

1. Bring sauce to boil; whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Cut off string from roast. Cut roast crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on platter. Serve with sauce and the celeriac and cauliflower mash.

I served it with the celeriac and cauliflower mash instead of potatoes. It was incredibly satisfying.

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