25-Minute Pork Tenderloin Guisado (The Weeknight Salsa Verde Shortcut)
Listen, a traditional Oaxacan cerdito en salsa verde takes all Sunday afternoon. My abuela would use bone-in pork shoulder, letting it simmer on the stove until the meat literally surrendered. It is a beautiful process, but we don't have until Sunday! Between school pickups and getting dinner on the table before someone asks for a snack, we need mom-math. We need a Tuesday guisado, not a wedding guisado.
The inspiration for this shortcut came to me on a freezing Brooklyn winter evening when I was craving my mom's kitchen but only had 30 minutes. Enter: pork tenderloin. You are going to cube it, give it a hard flash-sear, and then quick-braise it in a blistered tomatillo blender-salsa. It is full "Bodega Mode" magic. Grab tomatillos, jalapeños, and cilantro, broil them until blackened (do not skip the char!), and blend.
What makes this special is the finish. Rich sauce needs bright contrast, so we top this with a limey radish crunch.
Make it yours: If you cannot find fresh tomatillos, a high-quality jarred salsa verde works—just doctor it with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Taste it—then decide. We are not suffering for dinner, ándale!
Featured Recipe
25-Minute Pork Tenderloin Guisado (The Weeknight Salsa Verde Shortcut)
Listen, a traditional Oaxacan cerdito en salsa verde takes all Sunday afternoon, using pork shoulder that simmers until it surrenders. We don’t have until Sunday. We use cubed pork tenderloin for a flash-sear, then quick-braise it in a blistered tomatillo blender-salsa. Finished with a limey radish crunch, this is Tuesday night mom-math at its finest: big flavor, real fast.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh tomatillos(husked, rinsed to remove the sticky residue, and halved)
- 1/2 large white onion(quartered)
- 3 cloves garlic(left whole, peeled)
- 1-2 whole serrano chiles(stems removed (use 1 for mild, 2 for real life))
- 1.25 lbs pork tenderloin(silver skin trimmed, cut into bite-sized 1-inch cubes)
- 1 tsp kosher salt(divided, plus more to taste)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro(roughly chopped (stems are fine!))
- 1/2 cup chicken broth(or water mixed with a pinch of bouillon)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp avocado oil(or any neutral, high-heat oil)
- 4 whole red radishes(thinly sliced into half-moons)
- 1 cup green cabbage(finely shredded)
- 1 large lime(cut in half (half for slaw, half for serving))
- 8 whole corn tortillas(for serving)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper(mentioned in step 2, not listed in ingredients)
Instructions
- 1
Turn your broiler to high. Toss 1 lb fresh tomatillos, 1/2 large white onion, 3 cloves garlic, and 1-2 serrano chiles onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Stick it under the broiler for about 8-10 minutes. You want them blistered, blackened in spots, and a little messy.
10 min
Tip: Don't walk away completely; every broiler is a different beast. We want char, not ash.
- 2
While the veggies char (mom math: this is your window), cut your 1.25 lbs pork tenderloin into 1-inch cubes. Season aggressively with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a good crack of black pepper. We use tenderloin because it cooks in a flash, but it needs seasoning early so it doesn't taste like water.
4 min
Tip: Make the cubes uniform so they cook at the exact same rate. Dry them well with a paper towel before seasoning so they actually sear.
- 3
We need crunch to cut the richness. In a small bowl, toss 4 red radishes, 1 cup green cabbage, and the juice of 1/2 large lime with a tiny pinch of salt. Let it hang out on the counter. This is your texture lifeline.
3 min
Tip: If you have some red onion lying around, throw a little in here too. Use your hands to massage the lime into the cabbage.
- 4
Pull the blackened veggies from the oven. Dump them carefully (juices and all!) into a blender with 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, and the remaining 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Blend until it's smooth but still has some body. Taste it—then decide if it needs more salt.
3 min
Tip: Always blend hot liquids with the blender cap slightly vented (cover with a towel) so it doesn't explode all over your ceiling. We've all been there.
- 5
Get a wide, heavy skillet smoking hot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp avocado oil. Drop in the pork cubes in a single layer. Leave them alone for 2 minutes to get a serious golden crust, then toss for another 2 minutes. We are searing, not steaming! Ándale!
4 min
Tip: If your skillet is too small, do this in two batches. Crowding the pan will boil the pork, which is a tragedy.
- 6
Pour the blended salsa directly over the seared pork. It will sputter and smell absolutely incredible. Lower the heat to medium-low, let it bubble, and quick-braise for 8 minutes. The sauce will thicken up beautifully, and the pork will absorb all that tangy tomatillo magic.
8 min
Tip: Because it's tenderloin, do NOT walk away and do laundry. 8 minutes is all it needs to be fully cooked but still wildly tender.
- 7
While the pork bubbles, heat your comal or a dry skillet. Warm 8 corn tortillas until pliable and slightly toasty on the edges. Serve the guisado straight from the skillet, topped high with your crispy, limey cabbage-radish slaw and the remaining 1/2 large lime cut into wedges.
5 min
Tip: Wrap the warmed tortillas in a clean kitchen towel to keep them steaming and soft.
Chef's Notes
Bodega Mode Shortcut: If you can't find fresh tomatillos, skip the broiler completely. Blend a 16oz jar of store-bought salsa verde with the fresh cilantro, garlic, and cumin to 'wake it up,' then proceed with the recipe. We are not suffering for dinner!
María “Mari” Santiago
Oaxacan comfort, Brooklyn shortcuts, weeknight bright.
María “Mari” Santiago was born in Oaxaca, where her earliest kitchen memories are measured in scent: chiles toasting on a comal, cinnamon and chocolate blooming in mole, and the warm, nutty snap of a tlayuda folded in half for the walk home. She learned by watching—first her tías, then her abuela—picking up the small, practical rules that never made it into written recipes: how to tell when the garlic is *just* right, how to rescue a too-spicy salsa, and why you always taste the broth before you add the salt. Now in Brooklyn, Mari cooks the food she grew up on while raising two little kids and juggling real-life time limits. Her style is “real flavor, real life”: traditional Oaxacan and everyday Mexican dishes—moles, caldos, frijoles, enfrijoladas, salsas, and crispy tlayudas—made weeknight-friendly with smart shortcuts, brighter salsas, and more vegetables without losing the soul of the dish. She’s not precious about rules, she’s big on swaps, and she’s on a mission to prove that you can cook deeply flavorful Mexican food with what you can actually find at a normal grocery store (and still get dinner on the table before a meltdown). Mari’s recipes read like a friend texting you from the produce aisle: clear, funny, and unpretentious, with a side of abuela wisdom. If there’s a hard-to-find ingredient, she gives you a realistic alternative, tells you what will change (and what won’t), and keeps the focus where it belongs—on food that tastes like home, even when home is a small Brooklyn kitchen.