This sous vide marinated pork tenderloin is a straight mouthgasm. First off, sous vide pork tenderloin is simply unbelievable. It is insanely tender and juicy. The definition of perfection.
Then you add a soy sauce, garlic and lemon pepper marinade to the tenderloin and you have the perfect balance of salty and tangy.
Do yourself a favor and make this recipe stat.
Packaging
An essential part of cooking sous vide is putting ingredients in an air-tight bag or container. The two most common techniques to package your ingredients are vacuum sealing and using the water displacement method.
A vacuum sealer removes all the air and seals the contents of a plastic bag through a vacuum. This process ensures the food is airtight and properly sealed, and prevents the bag from floating which can result in uneven cooking. If you are in the market for a vacuum sealer, I’d recommend the Anova sealer.
The displacement method is a technique where you first place your food and marinades in a sous vide bag. Next, submerge the bag in a container of water, and allow the pressure to force all the air out of the bag. Once all the air is out, zip up the bag and you’re all set!
Either method works for this recipe. Since we are adding a marinade in the bag, please make sure your vacuum sealer is capable of sealing liquids. If not, please use the displacement method.
Pork Tenderloin Time and Temperature
Through loads of experimentation, we’ve found that cooking marinated pork tenderloin at 60C/140F for 2 hours is the perfect combo. Cooking the tenderloin for two hours break down the connective tissue (collagen), which results in extremely tender, juicy pork. Also, cooking the tenderloin at a temperature of 140F ensures that the pork is a beautiful medium rare with great texture.
Just make sure you have a reliable sous vide that accurately regulates the temperature of the bath or your results may vary (check out the Anova or Joule).
Although this combination of time and temperature is our favorite, we recommend you explore different combinations to find your personal favorite. Our cooking guide can always help you find your perfect time and temperature.
Can You Sous Vide Frozen Pork Tenderloin?
The quick answer is, absolutely! Cooking frozen foods sous vide is an ultra convenient, safe way to prepare your protein. Just take the food directly from the fridge, repackage it (unless you know the bag is sous vide safe) and let the sous vide work its magic.
The only thing you’ll need to adjust is the cook time. If you are cooking frozen pork tenderloin sous vide we recommend adding an additional hour to the cook time, so three hours total for the tenderloin.
Recommended Searing Methods for Pork Tenderloin
Searing is by far the most important step in cooking sous vide. If want your food to look like it is Michelin star quality, you are going to have to get a rich sear on it. Failing to do so will make your dinner guests wonder why they let you cook again.
If you want an amazing sear, you’ve got to:
1. Pat the meat completely dry with a paper towel
2. Season generously with salt or seasoning of your choice
3. Sear at extremely high temperatures.
At this point you want to determine the best searing method. For pork tenderloin, we suggest pan searing, grilling or using a searing torch. The trick is getting the pan, grill or torch extremely hot, then searing for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. This results in a quick, high-quality sear without drying out the pork.
Special Equipment
Sous Vide Machine – This one is obvious. To cook sous vide, you’re going to need a device to precisely regulate the temperature of the bath water. The two best sous vide machines in the game right now are the Anova Precision Cooker and the Breville Joule.
The main difference between the two is that with the Anova you can control the device both manually and with a mobile device, and with the Joule you can only control the device by using your mobile device. Either way, both sous vide machines are top class and you can’t go wrong with either choice.
12-quart Container – Although you can use a basic stockpot for your sous vide cooking needs, I highly recommend buying a large plastic container. They are inexpensive and spacious, so you won’t have to worry about cooking a big roast in a small pot. I recommend a 12 quart Rubbermaid container, as it is BPA free, sturdy, and large enough for just about anything you will be cooking.
Container Lid – If you are going to buy a plastic container, I highly suggest buying a compatible lid for it. When you sous vide for a long duration, the heat of the water causes evaporation. With a lid, it eliminates a majority of the evaporation so you can cook for hours care-free.
Cast Iron Skillet – If you are looking to take your searing game to the next level, we recommend investing in a cast iron skillet. By using a cast iron in this recipe, you’ll achieve a deep sear on the protein. Cast irons are also extremely handy for searing just about any and all sous vide meat. Lodge offers the best quality and price, which is why it is our favorite cast iron brand.
Check out our full list of recommended gear here.
Sous Vide Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 lbs pork tenderloin
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tsp lemon pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preparation
Set sous vide machine to 60C/140F.
In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, lemon pepper, and garlic.
Put the pork tenderloin in a freezer bag with the soy sauce marinade, and remove the air through a vacuum sealer or the displacement method. Drop tenderloin in the bath for 2 hours.
Finishing
Remove bag from bath. Take pork out of the bag, pat dry and lightly season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a large skillet on high and add oil. Sear for 60 seconds on each side. Remove from pan and place on plate to rest. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
For the best results, let pork marinate for 4 to 24 hours.
Fantastic recipe! Perfect dish to make for the family.
Thanks for a fabulous recipe. This was our Christmas dinner entree. It was prepared by my son, (who added 1 Tbl. honey to the marinade). Also, he finished by using a searing torch.
So glad you enjoyed it! Honey sounds like a great addition to the marinade, I’ll have to try it.
Came out delicious! There was plenty of salt in the soy sauce and lemon pepper seasoning so we didn’t have to add any more. Thanks!
A couple of questions on the recipe.
1. Do we marinate the pork for 4 – 24 hours prior to immersing in the sous vide?
2. Do you suggest searing the cooked sous vide in oil, butter, or nothing?
Thanks
Hi Rick, yes if you have the time I’d recommend marinating for that long prior to placing in the sous vide. In regards to searing, I use an oil with a high smoking point such as grapeseed or avocado oil.
I loved this recipe. My only mild suggestion is that you move the sentence that the meat is better if you marinate it for 4-24 hours before bathing it from the end to the beginning. It deserves that honor.
Thank you so much Patrick! I agree with you, I will definitely make that change.
I am using two 1 lb. pork loins. Should I adjust the cook time?
Hi Shawn, no need to adjust the cooking time. 2 hours will be perfect still.
If using a smaller pc pork, 10oz to be precise. Do I need to adjust temperature and cooking time? Thanks
I would use the same cooking time and temp!
Marinade was delicious but the cooking time for our 1″ thick pork tenderloin medallions did not work. I took them out of the water bath at a little over 1 1/2 hours and seared them in a very hot pan for a minute and the meat was white all the way through and the texture was very firm. Not at all what I expected
Hi David,
Since sous vide is a very precise cooking method that gives you the same results every time, I’m trying to figure out what could have turned the texture firm and color white. Here are my thoughts:
1. For pork tenderloin I use the entire pork tenderloin, so I prefer a temperature of 140F or else the meat is too pink for my liking. Since you were using medallions cooking them at the temperature of 136F (the temp I prefer my pork chops) might have given you your desired doneness.
2. With a 1″ cut it is possible you may have seared it on too high of heat for too long causing the color to turn white and texture to firm up.
That all being said, the fun about sous vide is all about experimenting and figuring out what your preferred times and temps are. If something came out overcooked/undercooked, you can always just the temperature to your liking next time. 🙂