Fennel-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

2026-10-14 · Serves 4

Ingredients

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Trim the silverskin from the pork tenderloin. Toast the fennel seed in a dry pan until fragrant, then crush it lightly.
  2. Mix the fennel, rosemary, thyme, chili flakes, salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and 1 Tbsp olive oil into a paste. Rub it over the pork. Let it sit while the oven heats, or salt it in the morning and refrigerate uncovered.
  3. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a cast-iron pan over medium-high until it shimmers. Sear the pork 6–8 minutes, turning until every side is browned.
  4. Move the pan to the oven. Roast 8–12 minutes and pull at 140°F in the thickest part. Check early — this cut is lean and dries out fast past 145°F.
  5. Move the pork to a board to rest 5 minutes. Set the pan over medium heat, add the last 1 Tbsp olive oil, and fry the sage leaves until crisp, about 30 seconds. Lift them onto a towel.
  6. Add the white wine to the pan. Scrape up the browned bits and simmer about 1 minute, until slightly reduced. Pour in any juices from the resting board.
  7. Slice the pork ½ inch thick. Spoon the pan juices over the slices and scatter the crisp sage.

At a Glance

Heat oven to 425°F
1 pork tenderloin (1–1¼ lb) trim silverskin rub over pork sear 6–8 min, all sides roast to 140°F, 8–12 min rest 5 min, slice ½ in spoon on juices, scatter sage
1½ tsp fennel seed toast, crush mix into paste
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp chili flakes
1 tsp kosher salt
black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp olive oil heat in cast iron until shimmering
1 Tbsp olive oil fry in the pork pan until crisp, 30 sec
8–10 fresh sage leaves
¼ cup dry white wine deglaze the pan, simmer 1 min, add resting juices

Notes

This is a weeknight take on Tuscan arista: warm, resinous, and toasty. Toasted fennel and rosemary carry it, and the chili flakes give it lift. Rosemary, thyme, and sage come from the garden.

A lean tenderloin renders almost no fat, so the extra olive oil does the work fat usually does. It carries the sear, crisps the sage, and gives the wine something to emulsify with. The splash of wine makes a small jus that the lean meat cannot make on its own. Pull at 140°F. With so little fat, a few degrees too far turns it dry.

Skip glazes, mustard, and anything sweet. The crust and the herbs are the point. Serve it with a quiet side so the pork leads: plain white beans in olive oil, roast potatoes, or bitter greens with lemon.

For live fire, use the same rub. Sear on the hot side of a two-zone fire and finish on the cool side to 140°F. Skip the wine and spoon a little olive oil with the crisp sage over the slices instead.