What am I doing wrong? Cooking pork casserole - advice, please.

Tenderloin is too lean a cut for casseroles. It's better roasted, or cut into medallions and fried. For casseroles, especially slow cooking, I would use shoulder, or possibly even pork belly or cheek. They become beautifully tender when slow cooked.

It is most probably because you are using lean meat rather than the cuts with fat in?

I agree with Blondiescot. Tenderloin is for roasting or frying. Wasted in a casserole. I too would use shoulder in a casserole - belly is a bit too fatty for my liking in a casserole but is delicious roasted.

Amy cut should be fine so long as it’s cooked for long enough.
Always brown the meat in a frying pan before casseroling.
The meat needs to “surrender” this could take 8 hours in a slow cooker.

I made a pork casserole this morning and cooked it in the oven at 160c for 2 hours and it was perfect. Melted in the mouth. It was a reduced pack of diced pork from Tesco. I added onions, carrots, apple, some fruit cider.

Try that next time.

Primrose53

I made a pork casserole this morning and cooked it in the oven at 160c for 2 hours and it was perfect. Melted in the mouth. It was a reduced pack of diced pork from Tesco. I added onions, carrots, apple, some fruit cider.

Try that next time.

That sounds lovely. I've not made a pork casserole for a while, but that's given me inspiration!

Any cut of meat should eventually become tender if cooked long and slow enough. However, the leaner cuts lend themselves better to grilling, roasting, or frying. Casserole/slow cooker meats cook better if they're marbled with some fat, so where pork is concerned, spare rib and hand, loin, chump end, and belly should work well.

I always use pork tenderloin in casseroles and I’ve never had it tough. First I cut the tenderloin into medallions and then sear them in the pan, before adding flour to thicken and then I add cider and stock and the vegetables. Then I transfer to the oven for a couple of hours. Maybe the secret is the cider?

Pork shoulder or leg requires long slow cooking and it's fat content is ideal for casseroles.

Interesting. I have exactly the same problem as the OP and I use shoulder of pork. Maybe it is the cider.

I always find I need to cook pork for longer than I expect.