How to cut a pork tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is an incredibly versatile cut of meat. It’s very lean and tender and can be used to make all sorts of dishes. Many of which I’ll go on to post about here on Not Delia, but first let’s look at some ways of cutting it. Of course you don’t have to cut it at all, you could simply season it and roast it whole.

Here we have two pork tenderloins weighing about 400g each, and the chef’s knife out of a Nisbets boxed set. What you want to make with the tenderloin will determine how to cut it. There are lots of different things you can do with this cut of meat so here are some ideas.

The cuts I’ve done are, top row from left to right:

Small irregular trimmings – I’ll probably run these through the mincer next time I’m mincing pork. Meanwhile they can go into the freezer.

A section of tenderloin – this could be roasted, perhaps Chinese style or it would make a hearty roast pork dinner for one or two, depending on how greedy you are.

Medallions – these are lovely pan fried and served with sauce, perhaps a creamy mustard sauce.

Escalopes – these are medallions which I’ve flattened by whapping them with a meat mallet.

Bottom row from left to right:

Thin slices – these lend themselves well to a variety of dishes such sweet and sour pork, Thai pork curry, or perhaps skewered and BBQd pork.

Another chunky section – roast as is or cut into medallions.

Thin strips – these will cook in a couple of minutes and are ideal for stir fries and dishes like pork stroganoff.

See what I mean about pork tenderloin being a versatile cut?