Succulent Pork Tenderloin in Mustard Caper Cream Sauce is so easy and fast to prepare! No marinating and is finished with a tangy rustic sauce you’ll love!
Lately I’ve found myself in mental arrest regarding dinner. My current most dreaded phrase is ‘Mom, what’s for dinner?’ On some days it’s 4 p.m. when the question is posed and my response is like waking from those feverish dreams that you have to take a test in school but forgot to study….even though you have not been in school for many, many years.
Fortunately, as school graduations bear down with all their demands I have turned to Boulder Locavore to do the thinking for me. As I was poking around this delicious recipe sprang from the archives like a treasured friend I haven’t seen in a long time: Pork Tenderloin in Mustard Caper Cream Sauce.
My mouth began to water immediately when reading over the recipe. I love tangy flavors. Capers add a wonderful salty, briny depth to the cream sauce. I used country-style whole grain Dijon mustard which has whole mustard seeds making for a rustic texture that I also love.
One of my very favorite cuts of meat is Pork Tenderloin. It’s light in flavor and can be changed up easily with simple marinades or sauces. It’s juicy and succulent when cooked well and cooks quickly. It is the best choice for those ‘need something on the table in less than an hour’ days…which seem to be daily right now.
One way I love preparing Pork Tenderloin is to add it to some marinade the night before cooking. Then when preparing dinner all I need to do as pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, leaving plenty of time to toss a salad or prepare a fun side dish such as Mexican Green Chile Quinoa Salad.
This recipe for pork tenderloin in mustard caper cream sauce removes the marinating all together. The tenderloins are seasoned, seared and cooking in some of the sauce, leaving the remainder to be added when serving at the table. It always gets rave reviews! Because pork tenderloin is so lean, it’s best to monitor the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer to remove it from the oven before it overcooks. Did you know that meat will rise up to 10 degrees while it ‘rests’ after cooking? Removing the pork tenderloin from the oven at just the right temperature allows the cooking to complete outside of the oven to ensure it will be succulent and tender when served.
Pork Tenderloin is one of the easiest meats to prepare for a fast meal. It is a mild flavored meat making it perfect to season with a rub, marinade or sauce. It’s also a very lean but so will cook quickly and should not be overcooked to avoid it becoming dry.
Recipe
Pork Tenderloin in Mustard Caper Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 1-pound (each) Pork Tenderloins
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to season
- ½ cup Shallots , peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoon whole grain Dijon Mustard
- 2 tablespoons Capers (with brine)
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Select a baking pan which will fit both pork tenderloins and prepare it with no stick cooking spray. Lightly salt and pepper both tenderloins.
- In a large skillet or saucepan (large enough to fit both pork tenderloins), melt one tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Place the seasoned tenderloins in the melted butter and sear on each side until light golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Melt remaining two tablespoons of butter and add shallots. Sauté until translucent.
- Add the mustard and the capers with their liquid. Sauté over medium heat, stirring constantly until fully combined; about 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low, pour in the cream and stir constantly for 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour enough sauce just to baste the tenderloins into a small bowl; reserve the rest of the sauce separately for serving with the cooked tenderloins. Using the basting portion of the sauce, coat all sides of the tenderloins and place them into a prepared baking pan. Note: the reason for separating the sauce is to ensure the portion of the sauce to be served with the cooked pork will not have been dipped into with the brush basting the raw pork.
- Bake tenderloins for 30-35 minutes (or until a meat thermometer reaches 150; the pork will continue to cook when resting outside the oven and will reach the recommended temperature of 160 degrees). Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- To Serve: cut the tenderloins into ½ inch thick medallions, place slices on serving platters or individual plates and sauce with the remaining Mustard Caper Cream Sauce. Serve immediately.
Vera Sweeney says
Oh wow! I love this dish! I know I love it because I had it once in a super swanky restaurant. Which is where this should be. You should just feed people.
Toni Dash says
Really? I love knowing that. It’s something I made up myself, loving the flavors, but if you’ve had it at a super swanky restaurant that must mean I have good taste without even realizing it, right?!
Jen Rattie says
Mustard and caper is such a classic combination. I’ll have to give this recipe a try. I was planning on making a tenderloin this weekend, actually.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
This is one of the best pork recipes I’ve seen! I usually just make them in the oven, and it’s so boring. I have to try this. The caper and mustard combo is a classic.
Tracey says
I love this recipe! I am Maltese and I rarely ever seen recipes using capers, which are huge in our culture. Going to try this one out!
Catherine Sargent says
This looks so yummy. We eat a lot of pork and the mustard caper cream sauce sounds like a great way to switch things up.
Jeanette says
What a great concept! I really never thought about making a mustard caper awesome but that sounds so good. I am definitely going to try that.
Colleen says
Toni, you have outdone yourself with such a simple and beautiful idea, and it’s a treasure for both reasons. “Market, here I come” tonight – and I’ll be making it again next week, with all the “fixin’s” in your photo, for some nearby friends who are recovering from an illness in the household. I’ll give them the link to Boulder Locavore so they can continue to be inspired. Thank you!
Toni Dash says
I’m so glad you liked it Colleen! I found the large marble sized potatoes and felt they’d be a perfect and equally easy addition. I tossed them in Olive Oil, salt and peppered them and stuck them in a separate pan in the oven with the tenderloin. I checked them when the pork was done, let them stay in a few minutes extra and voila!
Lea Ann says
I saw this on G+ Toni. It looks incredible. I’m such a caper fan and with cream sauce, I must make this one soon. Pinned.
Toni Dash says
A kindred caper spirit, Lea Ann! I love the big flavors of this, and frankly that it’s so simple/quick to make. It’s a chameleon meat too; my son said upon his first bite ‘I really like this chicken’. As long as everyone is happy and eating…..!
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
We’re going to be getting ready for school once August hits….starting to go to bed and wake up earlier so the internal clock can adjust, buying supplies on no tax day, etc. It’s hard to believe that it’s already time to think along those lines.
I love pork tenderloin as well. You’re right, it is very versatile; and delicious. I love the sauce you’ve made. I’m not a big caper fan though, so maybe I’ll just add a couple squeezes of lemon. 🙂
Toni Dash says
Ever since I was pregnant with #2 (8 years ago now) I’ve craved that sharp, tangy flavor that capers have. I completely understand if they aren’t for you and the lemon idea is perfect though I wonder if it would break the cream due to the acid? Time for an experiment!
Liz says
This looks and sounds good. Thank you for the nice recipe.
Toni Dash says
Hi Liz. I hope you’ll enjoy the recipe if you make it! I love the flavors and secretly (or not so much) how simple it is to make!