What's for Dinner? Pork Tenderloin with Crunchy Nut Topping

By Caitlin Klein in Food on Nov 10, 2011 5:00PM

Are you nuts for nuts? Just to clarify for our readers with gutter minds, we're talking about almonds, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts... the whole gamut. For dinner this week, try this crunchy, toasted nut topping, shown here with pecans.

The more challenging question is, of course, where is the best place to buy nuts in the city? Depending on the type you want to buy, the price tag can quickly become overwhelming, especially for pre-packaged nuts in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.

One place that sells nuts by the pound out of bins is Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. If you know of other nut emporiums that won’t charge you an arm and a leg, let us know. We love nuts, but we’re tired of spending all our beer money on a precious few pine nuts.

Chicagoist’s Pork Tenderloin with Crunch Nut Topping (Serves 3-4)
1 pound pork tenderloin, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup nuts (pecans shown here)
½ cup breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 Tablespoons butter

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375.

Chop the nuts coarsely. In a large bowl, mix the nuts, breadcrumbs, salt, and black pepper.

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Coat the tenderloin with the butter and roll in the nut mixture. Set on a lined or greased baking sheet. Using your hands, pat the remainder of the nut mixture on top of the tenderloin.

Melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter. Drizzle over the top of the tenderloin and nut mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the loin is 155-160 degrees. The nuts will brown.

Rest the tenderloin for about 5-6 minutes before serving. Cut into slices and arrange on a plate.