Pork Tenderloin and Buttermilk Biscuits with Roasted Tomato-Thyme Gravy
My mom always made this hearty breakfast when my husband, Peter, and I came to visit her in Memphis; it is so Southern that eating it always made me feel I was really home. (I don’t think Peter, who is from New York, had ever had either pork tenderloin or gravy for breakfast.) The roasted tomato gravy is what makes it so special; roasting the tomatoes cuts and deepens their bright acidity, adding complex layers of flavor to the savory sauce. You can mix things up by making this dish with sausage patties or leftover slices of Grilled and Roasted Filet of Beef with Crispy Roasted Shallots (page 193) instead of the pork tenderloin. Either way, you’ll want to use the biscuits to sop up the last drops of gravy.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Place the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bake for about 30 minutes, until the skins begin to shrivel and the tomatoes start to caramelize. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard the skins (they will slip right off) and roughly chop the tomatoes.
Step 3
While the tomatoes are cooking, rinse the pork, pat dry, and remove any silver skin (see Know-how on next page). Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until sizzling hot (see Know-how, page 100). Slice the tenderloin into rounds about 1/4 inch thick (12 to 15 slices) and sprinkle with the thyme and salt and pepper to taste, pressing lightly so the seasonings adhere. Dip the rounds in the flour to coat both sides lightly; reserve the remaining flour. Place the pork in the skillet and sauté for about 2 minutes per side, until light brown around the edges. Remove the meat from the skillet, place on a plate, and cover loosely.
Step 4
Add the butter to the same skillet and melt until sizzling hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved dredging flour and stir to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, just until the flour cooks slightly and turns light brown. Whisk in the broth and stir until the gravy is slightly thick and smooth. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the gravy comes to a boil and thickens, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 5
Reduce the heat to low and return the tenderloin slices to the skillet with the gravy just to warm through. Remove from the heat and serve warm over the biscuits.
On the Side
Step 6
Although this dish is certainly filling enough by itself, a side of scrambled eggs and Green Tomato Chow-Chow (page 300) or Tomato Jam (page 302) transforms it into a true feast.
Know-how: Removing Silver Skin
Step 7
Silver skin is the name for the thin silvery membrane that covers the top of the tenderloin. It tends to be tough when cooked, so you want to remove it. To do this, slip a sharp knife under the silver skin toward the thin tail end of the tenderloin. Hold on to the loosened end of silver skin and move the tip of the knife forward and upward (to keep from cutting into the underlying meat) to remove the silver skin in strips. Repeat the process several times until all the silver skin is removed.
Know-how: Cooking Pork
Step 8
I think people tend to believe that cooking pork is the same as cooking chicken. The problem with that line of thinking is that it usually results in overcooked meat. The pork will be nice and juicy if it is slightly pink in the center when you take it off the heat; this is how you know it’s done to perfection. Keep in mind that the temperature for medium-done pork is between 140°F and 145°F, much lower than for chicken, and it will continue to rise another 5 degrees while the meat is resting. If you still want it more well done, cook to about 160°F.
