pork tenderloins?

We pull ours at 138 internal and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Inside still a tinge of pink and liquids running, but the tenderness and flavor are incredible. Others can talk to the pork/health/temperature issue, but as a practical matter this is one of our favorite cooks and we have never made anyone sick, and we seldom have leftovers :laugh: :woohoo: !!!!

I did this one a while back. Don't remember the temp (140-ish maybe?), but I ain't dead. For me anyway, I prefer it to be a bit less pink (so I wish I could remember the temp!). It was very tasty, but the center was too cool for me.



EDIT: I found it...

20 mins @ 400° raised direct, turning every 5 mins
Pulled at 135-140°

If US farm raised pork was killing folks with trichinosis you'd be seeing it on the nightly news, in the newspaper, in Time magazine, on Drudge, all over cable news......and here.

That said I recently cooked pork for some friends and even with telling them the USDA temps that are okay. They freaked at a little pinkness. She has an uncle that did get and died from trichinosis while living in Mexico however.

With modern farmraising your fine.

This is a picture of a center cut loin chop (the porterhouse of pork chops) which has both the loin and tenderloin represented. This slice is of the tenderloin side of the bone. This would have been pulled off between 145° and 150°. But notice the even doneness.

With a high temp sear that you used, then finishing it off, I bet your tenderloin looked like the photo that Carolina Q posted. And don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that presentation. Heck, tuna and lamb is presented that way all the time. But here's the deal.... If people are uneasy about under-doneness to begin with, and then they see some contrast in their slice, the brain takes over and tells them it's not cooked correctly. You will never change their mind. It's like folks that freak out at the pink color of properly smoked chicken legs or thighs. Most of us smoke legs and thighs well into the 180°'s (a good 20° higher than USDA recommends), but if they think it's not done, they won't eat it.



If you cook a little lower and with more even heat, then sear if needed at the end, you will have more even doneness and less contrast. A proper rest will also dilute some of the contrast.

Here is a bone-in loin I cooked recently, I cooked it slow enough that I don't have a different color in the center. This one was also pulled at 150°.

Some recent pictures of some Coffee Rub Tenderloins with a BBQ Peach Drizzle

Plated & ready to enjoy!!

GREAT Photos! Thought I could actually smell it.