Air Fryer Baked Garlic and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

I cannot stress how much I love using my air fryer and Instant Pot. It just makes my life just so much easier to cook tasty meals without having to use the oven and it cooks in less time. I’m always trying to find new ideas and ways of cooking food, although I know not all things can be done in the pot. But I did make this pork tenderloin in the air fryer two different ways: One was braised and the other wasn’t prior to baking them in the air fryer. I wanted to see if there were any taste differences. This recipe uses 4 lbs. of pork tenderloin, but you can cut the ingredients in half if you make 1-2 lbs. It serves 6-8 people. Here’s my process.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Pork Tenderloin
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (You can substitute with 4 Tbs dry but fresh is best.)
• 4 Tbs. Italian seasoning
• 2 Tbs. Salt
• 1 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper
• 3-4 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 cup of broth (beef, chicken, or ham)
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch

1. Clean the tenderloin and pat dry. Make some incisions in some areas of the loin. I did them mostly on top. You’ll see why in a moment. Coarsely chop garlic, separating about 1/2 of them for later. Also, set aside some springs of rosemary for later, as well. Add all the dry a ingredients and crush using a pestle and mortar or knife. Add oil and Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and grind into a rough paste. You can check for salt and pepper at this time before adding it to the meat.

2. Rub the paste all over the pork making sure you get into all the little cuts you made earlier. Using the reserved garlic chunks and rosemary sprigs, inter a little in each of the slits. I did it mostly on top since that is where you’ll see it most. You can marinate overnight if you like, but I only did about 30 minutes.

3. I cooked each tenderloin separately. The first one wasn’t braised. I placed the tenderloin with a little bit of oil on the bottom of the pan and set my air fryer to bake setting for 400 degrees for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes , I turned the tenderloin over and cooked for another 8-10 minutes until you reach the internal temperature of 145 degrees. I checked about 10 minutes in for the second round and took it out after that. Cover the meat with foil and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.

4. On the second tenderloin, I added a little more oil and braised it for about 2-4 minutes per side, or until each side is seared. I proceeded to air bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then turned over and cooked this one for 8 minutes because it did reach the 145 degrees a little faster than the pervious one. Cover the meat with foil and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. I deglazed the bottom of the pan with 1 cup of broth and a 1 Tbs. of cornstarch to create a sauce. I seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

5. I compared the taste to the both forms of cooking and while they were both quite tasty (my 5 year loved it both) I found that the braised pork had a little more deeper flavor. Other than that, they both were cooked to perfection. The braised version takes a little more time, but I think it was worth it.

The final result is that they both came out perfectly cooked and tasty, with just a little more deeper flavor with the braised version. I encourage you to try both, if you can eat pork. I served mine with basmati rice with mixed veggies, steamed broccoli with some cheese sauce (see above). It was a big hit and we had leftover for days. My 5 year old requested this for like 3-4 time during the week! I do hope you try making this, which ever version. Let me know what you think and if there are any variation you might have made to something else you’d like to see. Thank you again for stopping, God bless and Buen Provecho!