Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

I only cooked chicken and ground beef for years before I branched out and discovered the joys of pork tenderloin.  Easy and cheap, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed preparing and eating it.

After my unintentional, week-long kitchen hiatus, I wanted something easy but delicious to get me back in the groove.  The pork tenderloin I had in the freezer was just what I needed to get my culinary blood flowing again.  I wanted a recipe that was going to be easy to prepare after work and would keep well for Jeff to have for lunch the next day.  I also didn’t want to have to bring in any extra ingredients.

This recipe for chili rubbed pork tenderloin was everything I wanted it to be and more.  The next day I had the left overs between two slices of sour dough, with mustard on one side and cream cheese in another — a take off on my favorite steak sandwich.

Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
adapted slightly from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

About 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan
About 3 garlic cloves, minced
About 1 tablespoon chili powder
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400degrees. Mix chili powder, garlic and olive oil in a large, shallow dish. Add pork and turn over to coat evenly with chili rub. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat an oven safe skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat and add oil (brush if using grill pan; I used a skillet and it turned out just fine). Add pork and cook until brown, 2-3 minutes per side.

3. Transfer pan to oven and roast pork to desired doneness. For medium, roast 17 to 18 minutes.

4. Let stand for five minutes and then slice.

Enjoy!

PS: Note that there are no photos of the method. No matter what you do, it is impossible to take a good picture of a raw loin.

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