Don't flog me, but I am going to talk about pork, the other white meat.  It's what's for dinner!

I know pork doesn't seem that controversial but online there is a whole group of research* that is very much against pork and it is not for religious reasons, there are legitimate health reasons for not eating some cuts of pork (yummmm... bay-con).  If I wasn't such a self-proclaimed, smart-cookie,* I could have easily been swayed, for either camp.  The 1 unbiased site I did find said you can eat pork if: it is a pork tenderloin with fat trimmed and it is cooked to 170 degrees* so that it is safe to eat then the health effects are similar to eating any meat.*

Enter my recipe for controversy!

(Controversial*) Pork Tenderloin
(It's really nothing fancy, but wo/man was it moist!)

1 pork tenderloin
olive oil
salt & pepper
grill pan
olive oil
JB's Fat Boy Apple Cider Honey Mustard Sauce (All natural, no HFCS, best sauces EVER!*)
honey
1 apple

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat grill pan to med/high.  Salt and pepper pork tenderloin on all sides (Controversy 1: I did not cut off the little fat that was on the loin.) and grill on all sides, about 5 minutes a side.  Lightly oil bottom of baking dish, put tenderloin in dish, cover with some JB Fat & a little honey and surround with thin slices of an apple.  Bake loin, flip halfway through and add a little more JB's Fat Boy and honey.  Cook extra 5 minutes at 500, let rest for 5 minutes, slice and serve.*

Well... that's not exactly how I did it...

Complicated Controversy #2: Generally, I hold to the theory of baking pork at 375 for 25 min/lb to get the tenderloin cooked to 160+ (160 is what my Betty Crocker Cookbook tells me).  I did not have enough baking time (I had a 2.79lb loin and only an hour to cook in the oven) so I went online* and wanted to see if I could possibly cook it for less and NOT DIE!  I found this recipe on Recipe Zaar* that said, "According to Sara Moulton on FoodTV, salmonella is killed at 138 degrees, and 145 is a safe temperature for pork, although the USDA recommends 160 degrees (meat will be drier).*"  It instructed to cook at a higher temp, 500 for 5.5min/lb and then let sit in the oven for an hour.*

What to do!  I baked 25 min a side then cranked up the heat to 500 and cooked 5 more minutes, took it out and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

The internal temp was 155 but when I sliced it open, none of it was pink.  And you know what, it was not dry, it was moist...  and... I ain't one to gossip, so you didn't hear this from me... it was delicious... and... shhh... my family loved it, I loved it (I am a "medium" girl) and my husband (who prefers his meat med-rare, more toward the rare) was raving.. he even said, "It tastes like gourmet pork from a 5-star restaurant."*

Be safe and cook it 25min/lb to get above 160+*... I don't want anyone getting ill on my recipe.

I tell you what though, I was very hesitant to post this recipe because of all the negative websites & blogs* about pork and how it is not necessarily the healthiest food out there, because honestly, it isn't.*  However, I kept getting reminded of that old adage, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," so I decided to post it because it was yummy. 

Don't get me wrong, I think the pros and cons are legitimate and I think eating healthy is a MUST, especially when it comes to heart disease and other illnesses based mostly off the food we eat.  From a researcher standpoint though, isn't it interesting how now-a-days if we want to know something we can go online, search out a question and find the answer from random websites where everyone knows what they are talking about and anybody can be on good authority?**

** - *All my cases in point, :)!