Seared Pork Tenderloin With Cocoa Spice Rub

Submitted by Kozmic Blues

"The spice rub for this is fantastic! At first I was a bit skeptical after I had mixed all the spices together and smelled it. BUT, after I rubbed it into the pork tenderloin and started searing it, this incredible smell filled my kitchen. I got this recipe from Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello. My husband, the meat-eater, loved it!"

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon whole white peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
• 4 1⁄2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 1⁄2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 4 tablespoons sea salt or 4 tablespoons kosher salt (ok)
• 2 (2 lb) pork tenderloin
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, toast white peppercorns and coriander seeds until they begin to pop.
3. Remove from heat and grind to fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder.
4. Mix the ground pepper and coriander with remaining spices, cocoa and salt.
5. Trim the pork tenderloins of fat and silver skin.
6. Rub with a generous amount of the cocoa spice rub.
7. Heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof saute pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
8. Sear each tenderloin on all sides until a rich brown color, about 2 minutes on each side.
9. Remove tenderloins from heat and finish in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked through or until internal temp reads 150 degrees.
10. Let the tenderloins rest out of the oven for at LEAST 10 minutes before carving.
11. Extra cocoa spice rub will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Reviews

[Secure Amy]

WOW this was good! I only had ground of everything and it worked just fine. I just threw in a little of each to just do one cooking and it tasted FAB!!!! Will make this more for my family. Eating it cold in a sandwich right now!

 

[barrdbarrbarr]

Five stars for uniqueness and great flavour! I have to admit, the dry mix kind of reminded me of Noxema (probably because of the cloves) but when cooked, this is very tasty. I cooked mine on the outdoor grill, and it was very tender. It also has great plate appeal, with the contrast of dark chocolate brown with the white meat. I will definitely make this again... thanks for sharing!

 

[PALisa]

I made this last night with my brother and it was fantastic!! Didn't have cloves so substituted allspice. Didn't have coriander seed so used ground. Didn't have white pepper so just used a little black-freshly ground. Next time will try it as written, but it was amazing just like that. We also made a cherry-chiante sauce with polaner all fuit, wine, a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of allspice. Perfect with the cocoa rub.

 

[Stevie Oertel]

Made them for the crew onboard USCGC Assateague and it was well received. It smelled really yummy cooking and then the finished product was tasty. It was surprising how well the flavours blended together with the pork. I will definately put this one in my recipe box. Thanks for such a good recipe.

 

[BonnieZ]

Like other reviewers I too was skeptical with how the spice rub would flavor. The end result is richly flavored,a nice bit of zing from the white pepper with nothing dominant or overbearing. The method of cooking left a wonderful crust on the pork, with a juicy and moist interior. Do make sure you use a heavy bottomed skillet for a nice crust. I should add I halved the recipe with great results and still have spice rub leftover to prepare this again. Thank you Kozmic Blues for sharing the recipe.