Russ Parsons's Salt-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Fingerling Potatoes

Oh yes, I know what you're thinking. Doesn't that look lovely? All burnished and brown and crusty? All herby and earthy and fragrant? Pork tenderloin, baby, and soft little potatoes, baked in a salt crust. Oh yeah. You don't even know how good the house smells right now. So good. Yes, it does.

I'm alone in the kitchen, heating up braised cabbage on the stove, while the pork and potatoes roast quietly in the oven under their thick cloak of herbed salt. The apartment's all warm and cozy and I'm waiting for my fella to come home and sit down to dinner with me - cold beer in hand, square meal awaiting, love all around.

Keys in the door. He's home! The man walks in, peels off his wool coat, shouts out a "Honey, I'm home!". I'm dancing in the kitchen, pulling the pan out of the oven, happy, so happy. He rinses off the back of his neck, plastered with little hairs from a quick trip to the barber, walks into the kitchen (that haircut, that face, oh, it's good), kisses me hello. We're all so-nice-to-see-you, oh-goodness-how-I've-missed-you, oh-lordy-how-awesome-are-you, no-no-how-awesome-are-you, and then suddenly - with no warning - all this huggy-bear-kissy-face, domesticated-bliss fest comes to a shrieking, gear-grinding halt.

One finger stretches out and points. Lips curl. The music stops playing. Readers, the world practically stops turning.

"What. Is. That."

(Now is probably the time to tell you that if there's one thing that Ben dislikes more than salt (well, except for anchovies - and the feeling for them is more like abject loathing, so it's not even up for discussion), it's pork. So pork and salt, together? You can only imagine the horror.)

Come on, baby, pork is tasty, so tasty, and really, not at all bad for you, as long as you're not snarfing bacon down every weekend and having pulled pork sandwiches on a weekly basis. Would I try to hurt you, honey, would I? I think you might be getting a little unreasonable about the whole thing, trust me, baby, trust me and if you don't trust me, then trust Russ, because Russ - well, it changed his life, this salt-roasting pork thing and if Russ says something's life-changing, I have to sit up and pay attention, I just do.

Ben stands in the kitchen in accusatory silence. I wield the butt of our heaviest knife and crack open the salt crust. Fragrance, the earthy scent of rosemary and potatoes and roasting meat, wafts aloft. I peek a sideways glance. Ben's impassive but for the tiny glint of interest now shining in his eyes. I lift up the browned tenderloin, brush off the clinging salt, set it down and carve it into moist, pink slices. The potatoes, tender with appealingly wrinkled skin, emerge from the white, sandy dome.

Three small potatoes on each plate, three slices of juicy pork, a riotous, purple tangle of cabbage, too. The knives sink easily into the flesh of the potatoes, the plates run pink with juices. The pork is tender and tastes, as Russ says, hugely of itself. A suggestion of rosemary fills the air, but the potatoes are just their best possible version, as potato-ey as it gets. I do my best to enjoy the meal subtly. I don't want to bang Ben over the head with the triumph of the pork tenderloin. It's bad enough to have forced him into eating something he usually spurns - I can't then also have it be the best meal of the week, can I?

What a silly question. Ben's plate is empty, as is mine. I get up for more cabbage and he holds out his plate. "More pork, please." I knew you'd come around, honey, I'm so glad you did.

Salt-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Fingerling Potatoes
Serves 4

2 tablespoons snipped rosemary leaves
6 cups coarse salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (1 1/4 -pound) pork tenderloin
1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon minced shallots

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the rosemary and the salt in a large mixing bowl and stir in 1 cup of water until the texture is that of gritty snow.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil until the surface ripples. Pat the pork tenderloin dry with paper towels and sear it in the hot oil until it is browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.

3. While the pork is browning, spoon a layer of salt about one-fourth-inch thick in the bottom of a gratin or baking dish just big enough to hold the pork and the potatoes in a single layer.

4. When the pork is browned, pat it dry with a paper towel to remove any excess oil and place it in the gratin dish, laying it down the center. Arrange the potatoes around the outside and cover everything with the remaining salt.

5. Roast until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes. At this point, the pork will be quite moist but still a little pink. If you prefer the pork to be more cooked, push the temperature to 150, about 5 more minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and set aside 5 minutes to finish cooking.

6. With a sturdy metal spoon or chef's knife, chip a crack around the base of the salt crust and carefully lift off the top. Use a dry pastry brush to brush away any salt on the surface of the potatoes or the pork, turning the pork over to brush all sides. Transfer the pork to a carving board. Slice the pork into medallions one-fourth-inch thick and arrange on a serving platter. Place the potatoes in a medium bowl and toss with the shallots and butter just until coated, discarding any excess butter. Arrange the potatoes around the outside of the pork and serve immediately.

Comments

[ann]

oh man Luisa, that was funny! I've had about 5 IM windows pop up asking me what I'm giggling so maniacally about. It's hard to explain that I'm laughing about salt-roasted pork. It just makes one sound, well, a little less than sharp :-)
I'm so glad Ben came around to the beauty of pork!
This one get's delicious-ed immediately!

[Nora]

I've just wandered onto your site (via Tomato Komato) and I love it! Great concept, fantastic writing -- rock on!

PS: Your man doesn't like salt, pork OR anchovies? Well, he must be amazing in all other things!

[radish]

Oh, i'm so glad he came around! And what a bummer to find out your SO isn't crazy about the mere things that make you swoon with exciement :) KS and I run into that from time to time and I'm always shocked - how can someone as amazing as KS not like cooked apple anything: apple pie, apple galette, apple sauce, apple tarts... ??? Maybe he too will come around? Maybe there's hope for me yet?

[Mercedes]

Triumph! Isn't it wonderful when you convert someone to something they thought they hated? And really, roast pork, potatoes, cabbage, what a perfect meal.
My family in Argentina uses the salt roasting thing all the time and it's amazing. Also, another thing we do is make a salt crust: mix salt with egg whites and water, then encase whatever you're cooking (whole fish is great, chicken or steak) and bake. The really fun part is you get to break the crust with a hammer at the table.

[aileen]

Oh-la-la! This is a fine, fine post. And I too am giggling. But I'm also plotting.....Thank you for leading me to the perfect, oh-so-perfect, dish to make on Saturday when my Iowa-born lad returns from a hearing out in one of the villages! P.S. My dail-up internet via [Russian?] satellite is so obstinate, and so picky, and just so slooooooow, that I can never get it to download the LATimes food section before it times out. We've definitely come to rely heavily upon your interpretations of Russ Parson's articles! So that thanks above - it's heartfelt.

[Jennifer Hess]

What a way to bring him around, and what a delight it was to read this.

[RA]

I love food conversions! Before I came around, my husband didn't like mushrooms, corn on the cob (what in the world?!), pork, or meatloaf, AND he had never had couscous or salmon. I consider it quite the victory to have won him over on so many things. But this - salt plus pork equals husband's love. Thanks, Luisa!

[EB]

MORE PORK PLEASE!!! Well said Ben... well said...

[Rose]

So funny - I have a pork tenderloin that's been in the freezer for...well, longer than ideal, let's just say that. When I read that article in the LAT, I knew that if anything could salvage the suspect loin, this recipe could! It's already in the plans for this weekend. Thanks for the preview.

[Allison]

Great, I've got a pork fillet in the fridge. Will be having a salt bake off tonight.

[gemma]

This might be one of my favourite posts. giggled out loud! x

[Jim]

Just found your site via The Food Section. I'm bookmarking it and making the pork loin tonight.

Thanks!

[mary]

This made my day.

[Robin]

My mom claims not to like pork, too, so I will have to try this on her. I think she still has bad memories of the pork roast my grandmother would serve with gravy from a packet and olive jello salad on the side (truly). Cold roast pork is so good, too...mmmm! Thank you!

[Kevin]

How someone can not see the merits of pork [other than if they've been deprived for religious reasons, of course] is beyond me. And anyone in the dark most certainly needs to be converted.

[Caroline]

I have to admit... i always want to like pork more than I do. Pork tenderloin always seems like such a good idea. Perhaps this recipe will be my key too!

[Victoria]

Help. Luisa, please. Explain exactly what salt you used. Is it just the salt you would put in your salt mill, such as Baleine Sea Salt Coarse Crystals? (I rarely use my salt mill since I started using Maldon Salt.) I must be a real dummy since no one else asked this question, but I want to make this on Saturday night (with Molly's roasted pears - did you read that?), and I'm going to Fairway so I assume I can get whatever it is there. I even left a red cabbage in the country that I didn't get around to cooking last week (it looked so good, and it was the last day my farm stand would be open until spring), so I'm all set.

[Luisa]

Ann - yeah, I could see how that'd be awkward to explain. Glad you liked this! :)

Nora - thanks! You know, it's relatively easy to work around the pork and anchovies, it's the salt that really gets me. But we compromise... ah, love. Ha!

Olga - nuts, right? The whole idea that the other person doesn't like the same things you do? (My mind is still blown by the fact that he doesn't DO things the way I do - you know, the RIGHT way.) Ben also dislikes lemon desserts. Can you believe it? I cannot. No lemon pound cake, no lemon tarts, boo hoo. Good thing he's so sweet.

Mercedes - yes, indeed! Quite fun, too. Now I have to tackle dim sum with him. The fish in salt crust is one of my favorites.

Aileen - how wonderful! I'm glad I've become your portal :)

Jennifer - thank you!

RA - corn on the cob?? Will mysteries ever cease?

EB - I think he's afraid he'll never live that down now :)

Rose - here's the thing, the salt-roast method really concentrates the flavor of what's already there. It's such a simple way of cooking, no sauce, no nothing. So, if your meat is less than stellar, it could come across in the flavor in a big way.

Allison - hooray! Hope you like it.

Gems - thanks!

Jim - welcome! No time like the present, get cooking!

Mary - :) your comment made mine.

Robin - having had some of this cold last night, I can only agree. Almost better, even, than straight out of the oven. (Also, olive jello salad?? That does sound traumatizing.)

Kevin - it's pretty good stuff, I agree.

Caroline - I always think pork tenderloin is sort of the gateway to pork, it's easy to cook, light in fat and calories, and tastes really delicious. Though truthfully, you also can't go wrong with thin pork chops flash-fried in a hot pan with slices of lemons and capers.

Victoria - I used Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, which is the only coarse salt I could find in a box at my local grocery store. The Baleine stuff is too pricy (you need six cups or more after all), so just go with a box of coarse or kosher salt - I'm sure you'll find it at Fairway. Have a lovely weekend! Enjoy the pork and the cabbage and the pears (which are just screaming my name, too).

[Larry]

The pork looks wonderful - so glad you did not cremate it as many do!!

[Ann]

The pork looks fabulous and how lucky are you that your man was converted? :-) I love your story.

My own man (normally an adventurous eater) refused to let me introduce him to the heaven that is roasted cauliflower. I was so sure I could do it, too, but apparently his traumatic childhood memories were not to be overcome. How I wish the evening had gone the way yours did.

[Victoria]

Thanks, Luisa. You have a wonderful weekend too as I know it will be special. I'll be thinking of you.

[deb]

This looks amazing. I saw the article and bookmarked it too, then again, Alex and I never have to be convinced that pork and potatoes are a wonderful thing. In fact, if you need any help with leftovers... (hint!)

[Melissa]

Great post! I've only ever made chicken in a clay crust, which is really nothing like pork in a salt crust except for the cracking open part. I must try this!

And congratulations on 'helping' Ben see the light. A certain someone around here has a few food phobias I wish I could dispel so easily...

[Hillary]

I love this post - so cute! I'm glad he liked your pork at the end. And those rosemary potatoes sound mmm mmm mmm delicious.

[km]

Luisa--what a great post. I love pork (tender)loin and this is such a fun way to make it juicy. I've been brining my pork with just a bit of brown sugar and water (hour before cooking) which makes a huge difference, too. Thanks for this!

Did you serve with jus or a sauce?

[Deborah]

I've never done a salt crust, but I'm going to try this. I can almost smell it from the pictures.

[Maryann@FindingLaDolceVita]

So glad Ben came to his senses haha. If you sway as well as you write it's understandable :)
I love a pork roast in Fall. It's a Fall food. Why? I don't know, it just is ;)

[Luisa]

Kirsten - I served it plain, no sauce. The pork's nice and juicy all on its own.

[Sarah]

not like salt? how is that POSSIBLE?!?

[Luisa]

Ha! Sarah, you just made a little tea come up through my nose. :)

[Robert]

I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. I love rosemary—and can't wait to enjoy the potatoes. Thanks for sharing, R.

[Jurie]

I made it tonight and it was OK (well, it was my first roast ever). I forgot the rule about bigger pieces of meat - we had a short, thick piece of tenderloin. Trust the thermometer, not the clock: I took it out after 25 minutes but it was still pink inside. We sliced it up and sauteed it. It was still nice, but not insanely great.

[Luisa]

Jurie - Trusting the thermometer is a good idea, though Russ does say that the tenderloin will still be pink after 20-25 minutes...

[jocelyn]

Havent been here for a bit and loved your Ben story!! Twould be fun to try the pork when Gems is over. Those biscuits can I freeze them - they sound scrummy may put them to one side. Hope all well and am looking forward to coming over to see my munchkin. lol

[Luisa]

Jocelyn - which biscuits do you mean, the whole wheat ones? I froze most of mine and they seem to be fine. The little munchkin upstairs is getting cuter by the day. I think she's my favorite neighbor :)

[Danielle]

Does anyone know if this would work with a larger pork loin, not tenderloin?

[Joe]

Hey guys, love the site and the pork looks great. The pictures are wonderful as well. I just did a Pork Tenderloin myself with a Romesco sauce. If you have the time please come by and take a look and let me know what you think. http://cookingquest.wordpress.com

Thanks so much, I'll be back for sure!!!

Joe

[R Chow]

I tried this just this past weekend, and it was a winner! Very tender and very... porky.

I feel ridiculous asking this, but is there any way to save the salt? It seems so wrong to dump it all...

[Chef Knives]

Mouthwatering, simply mouthwatering. Thanks for a delicious post.

[Ngoc]

So good! This served much closer to 2 people tonight. ;)