Dry-cured pork tenderloin

I'm not a big meat eater, but as a typical Frenchman, if there's one thing I have a hard time living without — aside from bread and cheese — it's charcuterie. While most types of charcuterie need to be made in curing caves with precisely controlled temperature and humidity, some simpler versions can be done at home without any complicated setup.

I've prepared quite a few kilos of dry-cured meat this past year, from duck magrets to Italian pitinas, but my favorite so far has to be pork tenderloin, or as we call it, « filet mignon ». It has a strong flavor, low fat, and is tender—the perfect protein-packed snack. It also pairs wonderfully with red wine (just saying).

Ingredients

• Pork tenderloin
• Kosher salt¹
• White sugar²
• Pepper
• Wild garlic
• Herbes de Provence³

No specific quantities are listed here; we'll calculate everything based on the weight of the meat, as you'll see later. Note that you will need the following kitchen tools:

• Vacuum sealer
• Precision scale

Recipe

Start by dressing the meat. Use a sharp butcher knife to remove any visible sinews and large chunks of fat. However, don't trim all the fat, as leaving some enhances the flavor.

Once you're done, place the tenderloin on a scale and note its weight.

The first step in dry-curing meat is to cure it with salt. This kills harmful bacteria and initiates dehydration by extracting much of the water from the meat. Traditionally, this is done by burying the meat in salt for 12 to 24 hours, but I'm not really fond of this method as it wastes a lot of salt.

Instead, we’ll use a vacuum sealer.

We'll follow the 4-2-1 rule, which means 4% salt, 2% sugar and 1% spices. For example, if the tenderloin weighs 470g, you would use:

• 18.8g salt
• 9.4g sugar
• 4.7g spices
  • 1g black pepper
  • 1g wild garlic
  • 2.7g herbes de Provence

We know what the salt is for. What about the rest?

Sugar enhances flavor and helps retain the meat's red color by keeping nitrites in, which also prevents the growth of harmful microorganisms. Pepper adds a mild antiseptic property. The rest of the spices are for flavor.

Mix all of these in a bowl.

Lay out some plastic wrap, place the tenderloin on top, and rub the spice mix into the meat, ensuring it covers every surface and fill every nook and cranny.

Wrap it up, no need to over-tighten it.

Vacuum-seal the wrapped tenderloin. Measure the width of the thickest part of the tenderloin, divide that number by two, and add one. This will determine how many days you need to keep it vacuum-sealed. For example, if the tenderloin is ~6cm wide, it will need to cure for 4 days (6 / 2 + 1).

Place it in the fridge and turn it over daily.

After the curing days are up, remove the tenderloin from its vacuum bag. Beside the divine smell, you’ll notice a lot of water has been extracted. Rinse off all the salt and spices using cold, slow-running water, then pat the meat dry with clean paper towels.

Don’t worry about the meat absorbing water; it won't affect the dehydration process that has already begun.

Prepare a new spice mix, this time without salt or sugar. The quantities are less crucial at this stage, as it’s all about personal taste. For example, you can use our previous mix of black pepper, wild garlic, and herbes de Provence, or make a « red variant » with black pepper, paprika, and Espelette chili pepper. Feel free to experiment.

Rub this spice mix all over the meat, covering it completely.

Place the seasoned tenderloin on a cooling rack to allow air circulation, and drop it in the lower section of your fridge.

And now we wait.

From this point, leave the meat alone, checking its weight every few days. The goal is to reach an approximate 40% weight loss, which is considered the sweet spot for dry-cured pork tenderloin. For a softer texture, aim for 35% weight loss; for a drier texture, go up to 45%. For a ~450g piece of meat, this process typically takes 10 to 14 days.

Once the desired weight loss is achieved, the dry-curing process is done! You can eat the tenderloin now, but if you cut into it, you'll notice it hasn’t dried evenly. The outside may be drier, while the inside is still a bit moist. This is known as a crust. It happens because we used a fridge, which is usually drier and colder than traditional curing chambers, causing the outer layer to dry faster and trapping moisture inside.

The good news is that it's very easy to fix.

Vacuum-seal the tenderloin again and leave it in the fridge for two more weeks! The vacuum stops the drying process, allowing the moisture to distribute evenly throughout the meat.

And that’s it, you’re done! The cured tenderloin can be stored vacuum-sealed in the fridge for quite some time. You don't have to eat it immediately — I’ve stored some for over 2 months, and they were perfect when opened, as seen in the pictures below.

Nutrition facts

Approximately 168kcal per 100g.

Note: nutritional value may vary depending on the specific brands and ingredients used.