Tenderloin at 90 degrees: Medallions · 255

Ask for the silverskin removed, or take it off yourself: it shrinks in the pan and curls the whole muscle. The leanest pork primal — colour should stay light pink with almost no intramuscular fat required. A slim muscle tucked under the spine that does almost nothing for a living. It is the most tender thing on the animal and also the least forgiving: with barely any fat, the window between juicy and sawdust is only a few degrees wide.

Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Medallions.” Use 90 degrees and 90 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat. Cook Tenderloin to 90 degrees and serve it as “Medallions.” The other figure to watch is 90. Do not time a hard-working muscle like a thin steak. Colour before heat is not doneness. Sear hard, finish gently, and pull it a couple of degrees below target — a piece this thin keeps climbing off the heat.

Cook Tenderloin to 90 degrees and serve it as “Medallions.” The other figure to watch is 90. Do not time a hard-working muscle like a thin steak. Colour before heat is not doneness. Sear hard, finish gently, and pull it a couple of degrees below target — a piece this thin keeps climbing off the heat.