Brined pork tenderloin with lemon and rosemary

A tribute to my rosemary plant, who sadly passed away after 4 years of loyally providing springs for many different dishes  It was a very long Winter and… sadly, it just gave up waiting for the sun and the good weather, leaving a big empty to fill in my kitchen.  I got it as a birthday present and, in the meanwhile, a lot had happened. It made my company during many hours of happy and unhappy moments, inspired and uninspired cooking, every day and festive meals…  Dishes like this chestnut with rosemary pesto, this roasted chicken or this fish wrapped in ham, to mention a few. How to better to celebrate her life but to use it in a Thomas Keller dish?

Brined pork tenderloin with lemon and rosemary  (adapted from Thomas Keller‘s Ad hoc at home)

Ingredients

For the brine

• 85g honey (app 1/4) cup + 2 tablespoons honey
• 12 bay leaves
• 3 fresh rosemary springs
• bunch of fresh thyme sprigs (about 15g)
• bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley springs  (about 15g)
• 12 cloves garlic, crushed with the skin left on
• 2 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 150g  salt
• 2L water

For the pork

• 2 pork tenderloin, silverskin removed
• Olive oil to taste
• salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons  unsalted butter
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 fresh rosemary spring
• 8 slices cured lemon slices
• sea salt

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the brine in a big pot, cover and bring to boil. Stir and let it boil until the salt is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.

Put the pork tenderloin and brine in a bowl just big enough to hold them. Let sit in the fridge for 4 hours. Be careful about the time – otherwise the pork will be too salty.

Remove the pork from the brine, discarding the liquid. Rinse it & pat the meat until dry. Let the pork rest at room temperature for about half hour.

In the meanwhile, preheat oven to 175oC/350 F.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan until piping hot. Season the tenderloin for salt and pepper, add them to pan and sear until golden brown in all sides (about 6min).

Add the butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary and lemon slices. Let it cook for another 2min, tilting the pan and using a spoon to baste the pork with the pan juices. r two minutes basting the herbs, lemon & garlic with the juices in the pan.

Transfer the pork to a roasting pan with a rack set in it. Overlap the lemon slices down the length of the tenderloin, overlapping them a little. Top with the thyme, rosemary and garlic. Roast for 20 minutes, until the core of the pork is between 60oC-65oC. Remove from the heat and let it rest for 15min (it should be medium-rare to medium).

Slice the pork in diagonal unto 1 to 3cm thick slices. Arrange the slices on a serving platter and garnish with the garlic, rosemary and salt.