How to Roast a Mock Tenderloin

Before I begin, would anyone like to guest post on my blog next week? 

I have a lot on my plate with work, life and I'm also creating recipes for a few contests I want to enter.  I am going to cut back and post only two recipes a week for a next few weeks instead of three until things settle down.  When I rush, I make too many mistakes and it's not respectful to you.  I know, most people look over a few typos here and there.  I see them in many blogs and even in most magazines and newspapers these days... which just goes to show how spread thin we all are.  You get to the point where you just feel like you're rushing and that's not good.  I would rather turn out two good posts over three just okay posts.

If you think you'd like to guest post for me, please email me at the email link provided on the blog.  I'd be especially interested in someone who has a low calorie cake or pie to share, because I don't bake.  Send me a quick proposal of what you'd like to post.  Just keep in mind that I while I am not a "diet" blog or even a health and wellness blog, I do try to keep things lighter.  Just don't look at all the sour cream on the baked potato below.  ;.)  Hey, it's fat free. 

That being said...

Today's post is going to be less of a recipe and more of a cooking method.  I haven't done too many of these types of posts in the past.  It's going to be a little different as I am letting the pictures and the directions describe the recipe.  Think of it more as a tutorial. 

I had never tried a mock tenderloin before.   I take that back; I do believe I ate mock tenderloin "steaks" years ago and I was highly underwhelmed.   When I saw this roast on special at my supermarket (it only cost me about 5 bucks), I decided to give it a try. 

Mock Tenderloin

A mock tenderloin roast is not a tenderloin nor is it very tender.   It is actually a chuck steak.  For best results, you want to braise it.  Like a pot roast, you probably want to cook this until it's well done, because you are likely going to serve it with some kind of sauce or gravy.  Unlike a pot roast, you don't have to cook it all day.  It's perfect for warmer weather because the oven only needs to be on for about 90 minutes or up to two hours if you roasting a 2-3 pound roast. 

I preheated my oven to 325 degrees.  

I added a little vegetable oil to a Dutch oven and a little cracked peppercorn to the roast.   No salt for the browning process as I didn't want to pull out the extra moisture from the meat.

I browned the roast on all sides.

Once browned, I rolled the roast in coarse sea salt.   This can be done to taste.  I completed this step right in the same pan that I intended to use for the braise.

To create the braise, I added 1/4 cup Marsala wine to a 1/4 cup of water.  I whisked it together and poured it into the pan with the roast.  I added two smashed whole cloves of fresh garlic to the pan along with a couple of sprigs of fresh oregano to create an aromatic braising sauce.

I covered the meat securely with tin foil and I roasted it for 90 minutes. 

Once done, I took the roast out of the pan and wrapped it tin foil to keep it warm.  At this point I created a Marsala gravy with mushrooms using vegetable stock, a little Marsala wine, and some of the braising liquid.   You can also use brown gravy or a red sauce would work nicely.

You can slice the roast and then add a bit of the gravy or sauce to it and put it back in the oven to warm a little before serving if you like.  This step is optional.

Side note:  The meat does shrink up quite as bit while roasting so consider that when selecting a roast based on the number of people you wish to serve.  This roast yielded about 4 servings.

Look at the end product!

Dinner is Served

Doesn't that look just yummy? I had the leftovers for lunch today.   Wow!

That's it.  The perfect mock tenderloin.


Have a great weekend and I'll be back next week with more recipes to share.