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Lomo de Cerdo con Salsa (Pork Tenderloin with Cabrales Sauce)

By Morgan Bolling

Published on December 16, 2021

Time

40 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Lomo de Cerdo con Salsa (Pork Tenderloin with Cabrales Sauce)

Ingredients

2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed2 teaspoons kosher salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil 2 ounces Cabrales blue cheese, crumbled (½ cup)1 cup heavy cream

Before You Begin

Cabrales (also called queso de Cabrales or Cabraliego) is a pungent, creamy Spanish blue cheese. Look for it in the cheese section of your grocery store or at a specialty cheese shop. If you can't find it, you can substitute Valdeón, Roquefort, Gorgonzola piccante, Danish blue, or Stilton.

Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
  2.  Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pork and cook until well browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and continue to cook until meat registers 135 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes longer.
  3.  Transfer pork to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Add Cabrales to now-empty skillet and heat over medium-low heat (skillet handle will be hot). Cook until fully melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Carefully whisk in cream; bring to simmer; and cook until mixture coats back of spoon, about 2 minutes.
  4.  Slice pork ½ inch thick and transfer to serving platter. Drizzle with half of Cabrales sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
Lomo de Cerdo con Salsa (Pork Tenderloin with Cabrales Sauce)
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Elle Simone.

Lomo de Cerdo con Salsa (Pork Tenderloin with Cabrales Sauce)

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Time

40 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces Cabrales blue cheese, crumbled (½ cup)
1 cup heavy cream

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces Cabrales blue cheese, crumbled (½ cup)
1 cup heavy cream

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces Cabrales blue cheese, crumbled (½ cup)
1 cup heavy cream

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

This recipe was inspired by a tapas dish from Dali Restaurant & Tapas Bar in Somerville, Massachusetts, that featured sliced pork tenderloin swimming in a rich sauce specifically made with Spanish Cabrales blue cheese. To mimic it, we seared two pork tenderloins until they were well browned and then gently finished cooking them in the oven. After transferring the tenderloins to a cutting board to let them rest, we added Cabrales directly to the meat drippings in the skillet and cooked the cheese until it was melted and bubbly before whisking in heavy cream. Cooking the cheese gave the sauce a deep, slightly roasted flavor. While this recipe can be made with most any blue cheese, Cabrales is worth seeking out. It is one of the funkiest and most robust blue cheeses in the world, and it is delicious over pork tenderloin.

Before You Begin

Cabrales (also called queso de Cabrales or Cabraliego) is a pungent, creamy Spanish blue cheese. Look for it in the cheese section of your grocery store or at a specialty cheese shop. If you can't find it, you can substitute Valdeón, Roquefort, Gorgonzola piccante, Danish blue, or Stilton.

Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
  2.  Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pork and cook until well browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and continue to cook until meat registers 135 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes longer.
  3.  Transfer pork to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Add Cabrales to now-empty skillet and heat over medium-low heat (skillet handle will be hot). Cook until fully melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Carefully whisk in cream; bring to simmer; and cook until mixture coats back of spoon, about 2 minutes.
  4.  Slice pork ½ inch thick and transfer to serving platter. Drizzle with half of Cabrales sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

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