Pastry Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce

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Pastry Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce

Worth the Effort (for a Special Occasion)

Why eat like an average Joe every day of the week? Why not eat like the king or queen you deserve to be! Truth be told, many of us only have so much energy or interest in pulling together the evening meal on a daily basis. But every once in a while a special occasion rolls around; a birthday, a holiday or some good friends coming to dinner. Then the standard list of options seems a tad underwhelming. So you dust off a recipe that requires some extra effort, like this Pastry Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce. If you decide to give this one a try, you won’t be disappointed. The pastry keeps the meat very tender and the flavorful mustard cream sauce is simply divine.

While each step in the recipe is not that difficult, there are a number of steps involved. You can complete a few steps, like sauteing the vegetable filling and making the cream sauce, the day before. I highly recommend going this route. Then it’s just a matter of browning the tenderloin, wrapping it in pastry, and baking it the day of the dinner party.

Cooking & Cooling Process

I had been eyeing up this recipe for quite some time but was a little intimidated by the cooking and cooling process described. In essence, here’s how it works. You brown the tenderloin and cook it to a certain internal temperature (a meat thermometer is a must for this recipe!) Then you let it cool before wrapping it in pastry. This prevents the puff pastry from getting too warm while you are working with it. Next, you prep the pastry, wrap the tenderloin and chill it before it gets finished in the oven. The key is to time things so that you are popping the wrapped tenderloin into the frig shortly before your guests arrive. Remember to build in a few minutes to tidy up the kitchen as well. Once you’re done with that, you can relax over some appetizers and slide the tenderloin in the oven when you’re ready.

Words of Wisdom

Keep Everything Else Simple!

As I mentioned in my last post, Easy Appetizer Cheese Platter, it’s key to keep other courses simple when tackling a more advance recipe. In addition to making a simple appetizer, I selected a very easy side dish of roasted asparagus. As it turned out, the cream sauce complemented not only the pork tenderloin, but the asparagus as well. Bonus! I felt that the pastry provided sufficient carbs, so I decided against serving a second side dish, like potatoes. Our dinner guests, Rick & Tracey, also supplied delicious salad and dessert courses, so I was confident no one would be hungry by the end of the evening. I can assure you, no one was. In fact, I felt like I had a food hangover when I finally tumbled into bed. Not an entirely bad thing, and much more pleasant to wake up from than a normal hangover!

Pastry Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce

Pastry Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce features a savory filling of sauteed vegetables which also add flavor to the mustard cream sauce.

4.50 from 4 votes

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Course: Main Course

Keyword: mustard, pastry, pork tenderloin, special occasions

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Inactive Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Adapted from Emeril Lagasse 2004 Vegetable Stuffed Pork Tenderloin en Croute with Creole Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

Tenderloin, Pastry & Filling

• 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 pork tenderloin approx 1 – 1/14 lbs, trimmed of all fat and silver skin
• 1/4 tsp plus a pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp plus a pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 c. diced onions
• 1/4 c. diced celery
• 1/3 c. diced green or red pepper
• 1/4 c. thinly sliced green onion
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp Essence spice mix recipe follows
• pinch cayenne
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
• 1 1/2 tbsp dry plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. water

Cream Sauce

• 1 1/2 tsp flour
• 1 tbsp Dijon or Creole Mustard
• 3/4 c. chicken broth
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Essence Spice Mix

• 1/2 tsp each; paprika salt and garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp each; ground black pepper onion powder, cayenne, oregano and thyme

Instructions

Essence Spice Mix

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Pastry Filling

• In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, peppers and green onions. Saute until the vegetables are tender and any released juices have evaporated, 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the fresh thyme, Essence spice mix, a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Remove vegetables from skillet and place in a bowl. Stir in the parsley and allow mixture to to cool at least 10 minutes, if continuing with the recipe on the same day. Place 1/4 c of mixture in a separate container to be used in the cream sauce. Note – If prepping a day in advance, cover the the container of vegetables to be used in the filling and refrigerate.

Cream Sauce

• Heat the 1/4 c. reserved vegetable mixture in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Stir in the mustard and continue to cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and heavy cream. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook over medium low heat until sauce is reduced to 3/4 c. about 15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste. If proceeding with recipe, set aside and rewarm gently before using. If preparing in advance, let cool, then store in covered container in the frig. Rewarm gently in a sauce pan over low heat before serving with meat.

Pork Tenderloin & Pastry

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease the center with 1/2 tbsp. butter. Set aside.
• Season the pork tenderloin on all sides with 1/4 tsp, each of salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the tenderloin and reduce heat to medium. Brown evenly on all sides. Continue to cook, turning frequently, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 110 degrees, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the tenderloin from the skillet and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface, lightly roll out puff pastry to a 12″ by 13″ rectangle. Sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs, leaving a 1″ border around the edges. Sprinkle cheese over bread crumbs. Spread reserved cooked vegetable mixture over half of the pastry. Pat cooked tenderloin dry. Place tenderloin on the pastry so it is parallel to the short end of the pastry on the same side as the vegetable mixture. Whisk together the egg and water and brush the egg wash around the 1″ border. Gently lift the pastry around the tenderloin and continue to roll it in the pastry, jellyroll style. Use the egg wash to seal the edges of the pastry, Cut away excess pastry and seal the edges by pinching them together and folding them under the tenderloin.
• Place the tenderloin seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with the remaining egg wash. Refrigerate tenderloin in pastry for 30 minutes. Note – I refrigerated my wrapped tenderloin for 2 hours. This required additional baking time (which is noted below.)
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake tenderloin for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and instant read thermometer inserted in center registers 150 degrees. Note – because I refrigerated the meat for 2 hours, I baked it for 35-40 minutes to reach 150 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve sliced with cream sauce.