cooking pork tenderloin in a slow cooker?

Question

hey everyone, So Im making my husbands parents dinner tonight, Its something I do every week or so, anyways i was tired of the same thing ( I always make beef roast ad a whole chicken) So i decided i was going to make pork tenderloin, I have took cooking course, I Love cooking and everyone complents me on my cooking, people come over all the time because they love my food, How ever I have NEVER cooked a pork tenderloin, and Im at a loss, i want to do it in the slow cooker but im getting conflicting reveiws on it, I'm reading some people saying that it gets way to dry and others saying it makes it so moist you can cut it with a plastic knife and fork, I'm so confussed, i dont have much time so need to know if i can cookit in the slow cooker and approx times, its only 2 1/2 pounds. thanks everyone

Update:

oh and any really good recipes?

Update 2:

yes it is a tenderloin, we wanted to cook it in the slow cooker, I love the slow cooker so thats what im hoping to cook it in. thanks so much for your response though

Mr. Mike · Accepted Answer

Are you cooking a pork TENDERLOIN or a pork LOIN?   There is a big difference.  2 1/2 pounds sounds big for a tenderloin.

You don't need a slow cooker for a good tenderloin.  Rub it with salt, pepper and your favorite spices/herbs and sear it in a pan with a little oil.  Once it is browned all around, put the whole pan in a pre-heated 375 degree oven.  Leave it alone for about 10 minutes.  Take it out, and move the meat to a warm platter.  Tent loosely with foil.  Put the pan back on the stove top burner and deglaze with a little white wine or chicken broth (about 1 cup).  Add some chopped fresh herbs to taste and reduce until it coats a spoon.  Pour the pan sauce over the tenderloin and serve with a fresh salad and your favorite hot side dish.

If it is a pork LOIN, you have a whole new ballgame.

Best to you...

Shaun · Answer

1

? · Answer

Just don't overcook it and it will be moist and succulent. 
But are you sure that's a tenderloin? Most tenderloins are 3/4 lb or 1 lb, sometimes less. Maybe it's a package of 2 that is 2 1/2 lbs together? Or maybe it's a pork loin not tenderloin? I can't see how one single pork tenderloin would be 2 1/2 lbs.

Anyway, it'll still be perfectly tender if you cook it in the oven; that's how I usually cook mine. Slow cooker is great for tough meats, but tenderloin is tender. 
The recipe I usually use is:
-rub tenderloin with thyme, salt, and pepper
-heat some oil in a skillet over medium-high; once hot, place tenderloin in skillet, brown on all sides (about 5 mins or less total).
-transfer to baking dish and place in oven preheated to 350F; bake for 30 mins or til just a hint of pink remains and meat thermometer reads 160F. I think what you have is two tenderloins in a package, so space them evenly in your dish and you may need to add 5-10 mins. If, however, it is a pork loin (it CANNOT be that large and a tenderloin, pigs aren't big enough for that), you will need to increase cooking time by a lot.
Or, after browning in your skillet, transfer to slow cooker for 3-4 hours on low. Again, for a larger cut you'll need to increase cook time.
Serve with applesauce or make a blueberry sauce (3/4 cup dry red wine, 1 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp grated lemon rind, 1-1/2 tsp cornstarch; bring wine to boil,  simmer 3-5 mins til slightly reduced; stir in berries, sugar, rind, return to boil; dissolve cornstarch in a bit of cold water, add mixture to sauce, stir, simmer until clear).

Other nice options are a honey-garlic-herb glaze, which MUST be in the oven, and slicing apples and cooking the pork on top of the apples, which can be done in oven or slow cooker.

Diane B. · Answer

You *can* cook pork tenderloin in a slow cooker, but since that's a lean cut of meat it's not what slow cookers are really designed for (they're designed for meats with a lot of connective tissue which will melt with enough time at a fairly low temp and become really tender, but cooked for a shorter time and/or higher temp will be tough).  
Generally, lean meats/poultry/etc are cooked for a short time so that they won't lose too much moisture (even in liquid), and also have their fibers "seize up" too much making them tougher.  
(Lean pork and even beef or dark poultry parts will still probably "taste fine" though, especially if they're sliced across the grain when applicable, bites are reasonably thin, and there's lots of sauce, etc.)

Here are some recipes though for cooking pork tenderloin *in a slow cooker*:
http://www.google.com/search?q=recipes+pork+tenderloin+slow+cooker

I normally cook my pork tenderloin in the oven (1 lb piece takes about 35 min, or until the probe thermometer reaches about 153 then will increase another 5 degrees or so after sitting 5-10 min).  Those are normally baked (no lid or other covering) and pre-marinated.

As for some people calling various meats so tender they can be cut with plastic knife, etc, many of them confuse softness and overcooking with "tenderness," or have never had similar meats cooked tender in a "better" way to compare.  
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApMYXQ4ltp54D.IJvnaPTprty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20110614102047AAVl8AU
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AonFqpn7Fl0DYOB._ZNYdzYAAAAA;_ylv=3?qid=20091017124004AASe3jT
(and details) http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110501114746AAhYMhG
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cooking pork tenderloin in a slow cooker?

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