Should be easy for most of you...
I'm mostly a read about food and then eat out kind of girl, but lately I have been trying to cook more. I was going to make pork tenderloin with rosemary and thyme and bacon roasted potatoes. However, the oven temperature for the pork is 350, while the potatoes need to be done at 450. I want the nice crisp texture on the potatoes, but I would also like the items to be finished around the same time. Is it possible to cook them together, then take the pork out, and while it rests, crank up the temp on the potatoes? Help please!
Also, should I cook the bacon in a skillet, then pour the fat over the potatoes with some olive oil, and crumble the bacon on top, or will it be ok to just chop the bacon up and let it cook with the potatoes?
I am just trying to avoid another kitchen disaster.....
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6 Comments:
I have to be honest, my "roasted" potatoes start on the stovetop. That way, I can get them very well browned and let them cook through in the oven (or put a lid on the skillet and finish in the skillet).
If you did it this way, I think you would render the bacon fat and set the bacon aside once it's cooked to your liking. Then you would brown the potatoes in about a tablespoon or two of the rendered fat. Make sure the fat is very hot. I would brown two sides of each potato, if not three. Browning is delicious. Then if you could just take that skillet and shove it in the oven to finish, assuming it's an oven-proof skillet. Otherwise, you could transfer the spuds to an over-safe dish. 350 should be fine to finish the potatoes. Depending on the size of your dice and the type of potato, it could take 20 to 40 minutes for the potatoes to finish.
I guess you would add the herbs before putting the potatoes in the oven, but beware of fresh herbs in hot fat. Splatter city. Then the reserved bacon would go in just before serving (if bacon can sit, uneaten, in your kitchen for that long).
I brown tenderloin before the oven too. Otherwise it looks pallid. Remember, pork doesn't have to be well-done. Tenderloin is usually very dry by that point.
Hope this helps!
blackolive at 5:19PM on 06/13/08
As to the first question, your idea will probably work just fine, though I would watch the potatoes at the end. And you'll probably want to cook them longer than the recipe calls for since they'll be at 350 most of the way.
On the second question, you can probably cook the bacon with the potatoes. It could burn though, depending on how long it will be in there. You could leave the bacon in strips, with the potatoes while they roast, then take the bacon out if it looks like it is cooking too fast. Then crumble the bacon once it is all done.
Nicholas H at 5:21PM on 06/13/08
Or (because there are a multitude of ways of doing things) parboil the potatoes on the stovetop until they're just about done. Or completely done. Then, while the pork is out of the oven and resting, crank up the oven and crisp the potatoes.
dbcurrie at 7:40PM on 06/13/08
Like blackolive, I do stovetop potatoes alot. My preferred variety is a fingerling. Boil until they are just barely tender. Then split them in half lengthwise. Lightly brush with olive oil -- or in your case, rendered bacon -- then put them cut side down in a nonstick pan over low heat. Sauté, shaking the pan every once in while to move them around the pan, until they are nicely crisped.
If you want to flavor them with herbs, I'd wait until they are almost done before adding them, lest they burn, or just toss the hot potatoes in a mixture of olive oil and herbs just before serving.
kjgibson at 8:21PM on 06/13/08
I'm with dbcurrie. I steal my method from Heston Blumenthal - boil the chunks a little, so they're almost done, then pour them in a colander and rough 'em up just slightly, so the surfaces get craggier. This makes a crispier crust on the potatoes. Pour the rendered bacon fat (and cooked bacon) over the potatoes, stir it up to make sure all the potato surfaces are coated, and let 'em go. These are really delicious, and I've had success at 350. Good luck!
BangieB at 9:20PM on 06/13/08
If you wanted to stick to just the oven, you could roast the potatoes and the pork in the oven at the same time. Then when you remove the pork from the oven for its tented rest, crank up the heat on the taters so they brown.
chiff0nade at 7:43AM on 06/14/08