If you precook apples and then cook them in a pork tenderloin will they get too mushy?
I'm doing an experimental recipe. I'm cooking a pork tenderloin stuffed with apples, ginger, cloves, and allspice. My main concern is I want to cook the apples a little first with the ginger, cloves, and allspice to get a good flavor and make a slight sauce to put on top of the tenderloin. If I cook the apples with the other spices in a pan with butter and water, then again in the tenderloin will the apples get too soft and "mushy"?
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4 Comments
Contrary to official USDA advice, my goal in cooking nice pork cuts like tenderloin is to not exceed 140 degrees internal temperature, when it starts to dry out.
However, this internal temperature is not enough to cook the filling, so it would really need to be precooked.
Good luck with your experiment.
Read Kenji's article at Serious Eats:
http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-lab-what-are-the-best-apples-for-apple-pies-how-to-make-pie.html
Despite his focus on apple pie, his analysis provides insight into the cooking behavior of about ten apple varieties available in USA supermarkets. There are over 7500 known cultivars of apples and no one has tried cooking with all of them.
Some apples do hold their structural integrity after cooking more than other varieties, so choose wisely.