Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin (With Maple Mustard Sauce)
“Great recipe! I am just learning about sous vide cooking and this was my first pork tenderloin. It was so tender, and that sauce!! OMG!” Stephanie
Expect moist, tender, delicious pork with this simple sous vide pork tenderloin – stress-free. The easy maple mustard sauce adds a delicious, tangy-sweet flavor boost.
What to expect
Pork tenderloin is the filet mignon or beef tenderloin of the pork family. Very lean and very tender if cooked right. If overcooked, however, it can be dry and chalky. Enter sous vide…
The sous vide method creates a soft, moist, and tender texture edge-to-edge. Guaranteed. This recipe takes just under 2 hours to make, mostly hands-off.
Because pork tenderloin is fairly bland on its own, you need a good, robust sauce or seasoning. The maple-mustard sauce blends grainy and Dijon mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, garlic and thyme – adding great flavor to the pork.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
The two components of this recipe are the pork tenderloin and the maple-mustard sauce. Here are a few variations to try.
Seasonings
- In addition to salt and pepper, feel free to sprinkle a bit of curry powder or cumin on the tenderloin. And add a sprig of rosemary or thyme (or a pinch of dried herbs). Don’t overdo it with the rosemary as it can be quite overpowering.
Sauce
- Instead of the maple mustard sauce, try
- a BBQ sauce like the one we use on our sous vide beef short ribs recipe
- a herb sauce like our 5 minute fresh herb sauce
- an apple sauce like our chunky applesauce
Step by step instructions
Cook time and temperature
- The old rule for a safe temperature was 160°F/71°C. Pink was a no-no. Current FDA guidance is 145°F/62.8°C (with rest).
- With sous vide, pork can be cooked as low as 130°F/54.5°C if held long enough to reach pasteurization.
- I cook pork tenderloin at 138–140°F (59–60°C) for 1½–4 hours (usually 2 hours), then sear ~2 minutes in a hot pan.
- 138°F/59°C: juicier, slightly pink (my pick)
- 140°F/60°C: tender, faint pink
- 150°F/65.5°C: medium-well, less juicy
Note: Color can look pinker at lower temps even when pasteurized.
What to serve with pork tenderloin
I love serving the maple mustard pork tenderloin with creamed spinach, basic mashed potatoes, chunky applesauce and tomato salad with homemade catalina dressing.
Shortcut
- Skip the homemade sauce and use a favorite bottled sauce (BBQ, teriyaki, chimichurri), a store-bought apple sauce, salsa or a fruit chutney (peach, mango, apple)
Recipe FAQs
Yes, no problem. You will need to use the displacement method which means lowering the bag with the meat into the water, unsealed, until it is an inch above the water line. When the air is pushed out, seal the bag.
Yes. Cook it an extra hour. So a minimum of 2 1/2 hours. You can season ahead, freeze it in a bag, the pop the frozen meat in the bag into the water bath.
Absolutely. I do this often.
No, it’s not necessary to brine the pork tenderloin before cooking it sous vide.
Only if you leave it in the water bath for longer than 4 hours. The texture will change and become drier and, eventually, mushy.
Use it in a sandwich, warmed up, in a quesadilla or cut up in a salad.
More sous vide pork recipes
- sous vide pork chops with apple chutney
- sous vide pork loin with raspberry balsamic sauce
- Vietnamese pork chops (sous vide)
- best pork roast sous vide
For recipes and tips on sous vide cooking as well as handy charts for timing and temperature for various proteins, check out our best sous vide recipes and tips.
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Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin (with Maple Mustard Sauce)
Equipment
- Sous vide equipment: Immersion circulator or oven-type sous vide
Ingredients
- 1 pound – 1 1/2 lbs (0.45-0.68kg) pork tenderloin, Note 1
- seasonings: kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, sprig of thyme or rosemary sprig (or 1/2 tsp dried)
Maple Mustard Sauce, Note 2 and 3
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon grainy old fashioned mustard
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup or honey (or brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or pinch, garlic powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Video
Instructions
- HEAT SOUS VIDE WATER BATH: Set sous vide temperature to:°140F/60C for medium (slightly pink, tender, moist but not super juicy)°138F/59C for closer to medium rare (pinkish-red, soft, moist, juicy) or°150F/65.6C for medium well.
- PREPARE TENDERLOIN FOR SOUS VIDE AND COOK: Remove silver skin from tenderloin (thin coating of sinew attached to meat). Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Go easy on the fresh herb sprigs as they get quite powerful in sous vide. Place tenderloin in ziploc bag and zip up part way only. When water reaches correct temperature, slowly lower bag into water. This will push air out (water displacement method). When top of bag is just above water line, zip it shut. Submerge bag. (Alternatively, use a vacuum sealer with sous vide bag and plunge into water). If you are using a sous vide self contained 'oven', put on lid. Cook for 1.5 hours minimum and 4 hours maximum.
- PREPARE SAUCE: While tenderloin is cooking sous vide, whisk all sauce ingredients together in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup or small bowl. Microwave for 1 minute on high or until sauce is slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- FINISH TENDERLOIN: Remove tenderloin from ziplock bag and pat dry with paper towels. Let rest for 10 minutes while you prepare pan or grill. The browning step is not technically needed as the meat is cooked perfectly, but as you see in the picture, meat does not look appetizing straight out of the water bath. To sear:: Heat cast iron skillet or other large skillet to very hot. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil. Sear on all sides for maximum 2 minutes total. Use hands or tongs to press meat down in pan to create brown crust. To grill: Heat gas grill to high. Brush tenderloin with 1-2 tablespoons of sauce and grill on all sides for 2 minutes total to achieve a few grill marks. Slice, drizzle with sauce and serve.
Recipe Notes
- For frozen pork tenderloin
- If pork is frozen, cook it an extra hour. So a minimum of 2 1/2 hours. You can season ahead, freeze it in a bag, the pop the frozen meat in the bag into the water bath.
- If doubling the recipe, you can put two tenderloins in one ziploc bag.
- If you like lots of sauce, double the sauce in the recipe (a few readers suggested this, and I agree!)
- Sauce shortcuts: Skip the homemade sauce and use a favorite bottled sauce (BBQ, teriyaki, chimichurri), a store-bought apple sauce, salsa or a fruit chutney (peach, mango, apple)
- Make Ahead:
- The pork tenderloin can be cooked in 1 1/2 hours and can be left in the water bath for up to 4 hours without any affect on the result. You can even rest it for another half an hour before browning it in a hot pan or grill.
- To make it a day or two ahead, sous vide tenderloin, cool for 10 minutes in an ice bath in bag, then refrigerate. To rewarm, heat sous vide water bath to 130F/54C and put tenderloin in bag into water for 30-45 minutes to rewarm. Then pan sear if you like.
Nutrition
The sous vide pork tenderloin recipe with maple mustard sauce was originally published in 2017. It is now updated with updated new information and image edits.
Made this for Fathers Day and was a big hit. Sous Vide at 138 degrees for 2 hours, rested 8 minutes then seared. Sauce is outstanding and would definitely double. Very easy and delicious.
Glad the Dad (or Dad’s) liked it! I really appreciate the comment, Nanci – thank you 🙂