Pork Tenderloin With Mushroom Gravy

Pork tenderloin with mushroom gravy is a weeknight dinner that tastes like more work than it is. Pat the tenderloin dry, season it, and brown it on all sides in an oven-safe skillet. Roast it at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until it reaches 145 degrees F, then let it rest while you make a mushroom gravy with shallot, thyme, stock and a little cream in the same pan. Dinner is on the table in about 45 minutes.

Pork tenderloin is the long, slender muscle from beneath the backbone, the pork counterpart of a beef filet. It is very tender and very lean, so it cooks quickly and dries out if you leave it in too long. A thermometer and a good gravy take care of both.

At a glance: serves 3 to 4. Prep 10 minutes, cook about 35 minutes, with the rest happening while the gravy simmers.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was asked for his most reliable, don't-mess-this-up steak advice. He answered in six words:

“Get the moisture off the surface.”

Gray Shipley

He was talking about steak, and it holds just as true for pork tenderloin. Water on the surface has to boil away before the meat can brown, and a tenderloin is so lean and cooks so fast that by the time a wet one finally browns, the inside is overdone. A minute with paper towels gets you a deep brown crust, and the browned bits it leaves in the pan are what the gravy is built on.

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin, 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 ounces cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or 3/4 teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. Trim the silverskin, the thin, shiny membrane along one side of the tenderloin: slide the tip of a thin knife under it, angle the blade slightly upward, and cut it away. If the tail end is very thin, fold it under and tie it with kitchen twine so the tenderloin is an even thickness.
2. Pat the tenderloin dry on all sides with paper towels, then season it all over with the salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a 10- or 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the tenderloin and sear, turning it every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes in all.
4. Move the skillet to the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part reads 145 degrees F. Start checking after 8 minutes, since a slim tenderloin can be done early.
5. Take the skillet out with an oven mitt and set the tenderloin on a cutting board. Tent it loosely with foil and let it rest for at least 3 minutes while you make the gravy. Leave the mitt or a folded towel on the skillet handle, which stays very hot.
6. Set the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter in the drippings. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, for 5 to 7 minutes, until they are browned and their liquid has cooked off. Add the shallot, garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute more.
7. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the stock, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until the gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon.
8. Stir in the cream, the mustard, if using, and any juices from the cutting board, and simmer for 1 minute. Taste and add salt and pepper. If the gravy is too thick, loosen it with a splash of stock.
9. Remove the twine, slice the pork 1/2 inch thick, spoon the mushroom gravy over it, and scatter with parsley.

Add 1 pork tenderloin to cart

Why sear first, then roast

A tenderloin is too thick to cook through in a skillet before the outside scorches, and too lean to brown well in the oven alone. Doing both gives you the crust from the pan and the gentle, even heat of the oven for the middle. Using one skillet for everything keeps the browned drippings in the pan for the gravy instead of on a separate sheet pan. Cast iron and stainless steel both work well; whatever you use, check that the skillet and its handle are safe in a 400-degree oven.

A larger tenderloin, closer to 2 pounds, follows the same steps. It will need a few more minutes in the oven, so go by the thermometer rather than the clock.

Pork tenderloin at 145 degrees F

USDA FSIS sets 145 degrees F with a rest of at least 3 minutes as the safe minimum for whole cuts of pork, and that is also where tenderloin is at its juiciest. At 145 the center is often faintly pink. That is normal for pork cooked to this temperature, and color is not a reliable guide in either direction; the thermometer is. Every few degrees past that dries a lean tenderloin noticeably, so start checking early.

Mushroom gravy that is thick enough

The flour does the thickening, and it needs a full minute in the butter before the stock goes in, both to cook out its raw taste and to keep lumps from forming. Pour the stock in slowly while you stir, then give it a few minutes at a simmer, because flour-thickened gravy keeps thickening as it bubbles. If yours is still thin, simmer it a little longer. Why Is My Gravy Thin?, linked below, has more.

What to serve with it

Mashed potatoes are the obvious partner for a mushroom gravy, and egg noodles or rice are just as good. Carrots or green beans can roast at 400 degrees on another rack; put them in before you start searing. Leftover slices make a good sandwich the next day, warmed in the gravy.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 145 degrees F, followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes, as the safe minimum internal temperature for pork steaks, chops and roasts, and a whole tenderloin is a roast. Check it with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part. Wash the board and your hands after handling raw pork, refrigerate leftovers promptly, and reheat them to 165 degrees F. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.