Baked Tenderloins and Baked Sweet Potatoes (1886) ★★★★★

12:00 AM 1880s , 19th century , 5 stars , gluten-free , pork , united states , vegetables , victorian 3 Comments

This cookbook included the recipes for a whole meal here - tenderloin, sweet potatoes, and sausage-stuffed apples. I decided not to make the stuffed apples, because I don't like apples with savory food, but I know lots of other people do, so the recipe for those can be found by clicking on the cookbook link and then clicking to the next page.


Original Recipe:

The Verdict:
It was good! I was worried that I might have wasted an expensive chunk of meat, but this turned out really lovely. The potatoes were delicious as well, and I'm kind of iffy with sweet potatoes, so that's saying a lot. They took on the pork drippings and were very flavourful. The only thing is that they were well done after 40 minutes, while the pork took about 80, so by the end we had mashed potatoes really. Which was okay, but next time I think I would remove the potatoes after 40 minutes to keep them intact. I think I will actually save this recipe and make it again, because it was really simple with great taste.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Miss Corson's Practical American Cookery)

1 PORK LOIN*
1 large SWEET POTATO, cut in chunks
2 teaspoons DRIED POWDERED SAGE
1 teaspoon SALT
1 teaspoon PEPPER
1 tablespoon OIL

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Use a baking dish or a cast iron skillet and coat the bottom with a little bit of oil. Add in the cut sweet potato. Place the loin on top of the potatoes. Brown in the oven for about 10 - 12 minutes.
2. Remove the dish from the oven and lower the temperature to 425F. In a small bowl, mix together the sage, salt, and pepper. Rub it all over both sides of the meat and sprinkle some on the potatoes, making sure to coat them evenly (perhaps temporarily removing the pork to a plate would make this easier). When you return the pork to the dish, turn it upside-down so that the underside gets browned as well.
3. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 40 minutes. If you want potato chunks, remove them after the first 40 minutes and bake the loin another 40 minutes. If you want more of a mashed-style potato, leave them in.

* I used a large pork loin, but you could also you other pork loin/tenderloin cuts (or even pork chops). In that case, the baking time should probably be reduced. I imagine that the originally given 40 minutes would work well with smaller cuts of meat.