Brazil is famed for its ‘churrasco’ barbecue culture, and one of the more feasible barbecue meats for home cook is the pork tenderloin (also called the ‘fillet’). Unlike a usual pork loin, this piece of meat sits either side of the spine and doesn’t bear much weight, making it an extremely tender, lean cut of meat. This same properties apply to beef tenderloin, which yields the classic steak cuts like fillet steak, filet mignon and chateaubriand; this is the pork version. Pork loin is cheap and lean, however it is very prone to dryness, so I include a method I always use to guarantee juicier results for this cut. As for the sauce, ‘molho madeira’ is a classic serving sauce in Brazil. It is traditionally made with Madeira wine, though many Brazilians use red wine or even Worcestershire sauce (‘molho inglês’) in its place nowadays. I highly recommend doing as the Brazilians do, by topping the meat and the sauce with ‘patata palha’ (straw potato chips) or regular potato chips crushed to splinters. It adds a wonderful crunch to an already wonderful dish! Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 2x)
1x pork fillet/tenderloin - or serve it with your favourite grilled meat
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
MOLHO MADEIRA
1 tablespoon olive oil
1x shallot, diced
1x clove garlic, grated
100g chestnut mushrooms, roughly diced
1 tablespoon plain flour
50ml Madeira wine, red wine or Worcestershire sauce
300ml beef stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
25g butter
To serve: white rice, fries, ‘patata palha’ (straw potato chips)
WALKTHROUGH
ROASTED PORK FILLET
First, preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Now let’s prepare the pork fillet. Using a sharp knife, cut away the band of silver tissue on one end of the pork fillet and discard it; this will become chewy after cooking. Rub the meat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Combine the 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic granules/powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder/granules and 1/4 tsp dried thyme in a small bowl and apply this to the pork fillet, rubbing it in well.
Place a frying pan onto high heat. Allow it to preheat for 2-3 minutes. Place the marinated pork fillet into the pan and brown it on 3-4 sides for 30 seconds on each side. Place the browned pork fillet onto the paper-lined tray and roll it in paper until well-covered.
Transfer the tray to the oven and roast it at 180C/350F for 20 minutes. Set it aside, still covered, to rest for 10 minutes while we prepare the sauce.
MOLHO MADEIRA SAUCE
Now we will prepare the sauce. Place a frying pan onto medium heat. Add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil followed by the sliced shallot, grated garlic and diced chestnut mushrooms. Fry the mixture for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have reduced considerably in volume.
Add the 50ml of Madeira wine/red wine/Worcestershire and allow it reduce down until a scant amount of liquid remains.
Add the 1 tablespoon of plain flour and mix it into the mushrooms until well-coated. Proceed to add the 300ml of beef stock a little at a time, stirring between each edition to eradicate lumps until it is all incorporated. It should have a thin texture.
Season the sauce with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste.
Remove the sauce from the heat and add the 25g of butter. Stirring constantly, allow the butter to melt into the sauce and add gloss. You can gently reheat the sauce if required, but avoid boiling it as it may split.
Slice the meat into 1-inch thick coins and serve it with the molho madeira. Top it with patata palha (straw crisps) or crushed potato chips for extra crunch, and serve it with fries or rice. This sauce will compliment any cut of meat, so feel free to enjoy it with anything you like!
