1032 votesSmoked and roasted pork tenderloin encrusted with a mixture of aromatic spices including fennel, cumin, coriander, all spice, and fleur de sel is served on a bed of creamy rutabaga mash, garnished with deep fried potato wisps and seasoned with passion fruit gastrique in this gourmet entrée that can also be served as a fancy appetizer.
To smoke the pork tenderloin, you will need a smoking gun or smoker and apple wood chips. After the pork is smoked, it is seared on all sides and finished cooking in the oven. Unlike beef, pork should be cooked through for healthy and safety reasons. One of the leanest meats available, pork tenderloin has very little fat yet cooks up juicy and flavorful. While pork tenderloin should be cooked through, care must be taken not to overcook it or it will become dry and tough. To check for doneness, you can use a meat thermometer. Cooked pork tenderloin should have an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, which produces tender, juicy and safe meat.
A gastrique is basically a reduction of vinegar and sugar infused with other ingredients such as liquor, fruits or spices. In this recipe passion fruit is mixed with syrup of sugar and water to make the gastrique. The acidity in the poassion fruit juice is used as substitute for the vinegar. You can also add a dash of liquor like brandy or cognac for a deeper and more exquisite flavor. The passion fruit gastrique gives the dish a tangy ad sweet punch, perfectly complementing the herb-encrusted smoked pork tenderloin. The syrup is drizzled all over the plate before the rutabaga mash and pork tenderloin is plated.
Rutabaga is a root vegetable also known as Swedish turnip or yellow turnip. Its flavor and appearance is a cross between cabbage and turnip and makes a fine mash mixed with butter and cream.
Add finely chopped rutabaga to boiling water, and poach for 15 minutes. Drain the rutabaga, and press it through a ricer into a large stainless steel bowl. Add butter, and thinly sliced chives, and mix.
To make the gastrique, put a pot on high heat, and add sugar and water. As the water and sugar begin to caramelize, pour in passion fruit juice. Reduce this mixture until it’s a syrup.
Place the beef tenderloin in a pan, and cover. Use a smoking gun, or smoker, filled with apple wood chips, and smoke the meat. Fill the pan with smoke and let it sit. Coat the tenderloin with Pork Seasoning (mixture of crushed fennel seed, ground cumin, ground coriander, all spice, and fleur de sel), and place in a hot pan. Sear all sides then place into the oven at 365 degree. F
Use a Chinese mandolin to create strands of sweet potato, then drop them in oil at 365 degrees F.
Drizzle passion fruit gastrique on a plate. Arrange rutabaga mash in the center, and place the pork tenderloin on top of the Rutabaga. To top it off, lay the deep fried sweet potato mash on top.
