Dill Pickle-Brined Pork Tenderloin

I don't think this is even a recipe, so much as something I did, but since it was something I did that turned out very well, here it is.

First of all, you need to eat quite a lot of good quality dill pickles, because you need to accumulate a quite a lot of leftover brine. You made these, right?  Well if you didn't, you need a big jar of real dill pickles, from the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Go get 'em; go eat 'em. I'll wait.

Okay, once you have your jar containing only lots of dill pickle brine, you keep half of it aside and you stuff your pork loin into the jar. If you don't think it will fit, put it in another container which will hold it fairly snugly, cover it with the brine and seal it up. If you got it into the jar, fill it up with more brine, then cap it. As you may suppose, the best place to be doing all of this is in the sink. Wash off your sealed container and put it in the fridge... you know, I have given you  half this "recipe" already, and this was the hard half.

Surprisingly, I did think it needed a little salt. Maybe the pickles had soaked up most of the salt from the brine? Maybe it's my fairly low salt recipe for pickles? Check your brine before you add more salt though. I didn't actually salt it before I cooked it, and just added some at the table, which was fine. That's probably the safest way to go.

We really liked this. It was very tender, and the dill pickle flavour was much milder than I had feared. In fact, I bet this would have been good with Tartar Sauce.

4 to 6 servings
2 days to marinate
20 to 35 minutes roasting time
20 minutes accumulated mucking about

1 1 kg to 1.5 kg (2 to 3 pound) pork tenderloin
about 2 to 3 cups dill pickle brine; enough to cover
1 tablespoon bacon fat or mild vegetable oil
1 to 2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
salt perhaps & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put your pork tenderloin into the dill pickle brine as described above. A really sturdy zip-lock bag would work too. The point is that your pork tenderloin must be immersed in the dill pickle brine. Stash it in the fridge for at least 24 and up to 48 hours.

Remove the tenderloin from the brine and discard it (brine, that is). Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the oil in a large skillet and heat it over medium-high heat while you pat the tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Brown it on each side; about 3 minutes per side.

If your skillet can go in the oven, you can leave it in the skillet and put it right in the oven. Otherwise, transfer it to a reasonably snug baking dish before it goes in. Sprinkle it with the paprika, maybe a little salt, and pepper.

Roast for 20 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the roast. Once it comes out, cover it and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Posted in: Ontario Food