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Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloin Bites
Loosely translated as “Moorish bites impaled on thorns or small pointed sticks,” pinchos morunos is a Basque dish of seared pork rubbed with a blend of spices, garlic, herbs and olive oil. The recipe dates back generations, boasting influences from Spain and North Africa. Classic versions skewer the meat, which is seasoned with ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend, among other flavorings. We streamlined, nixing the skewers. And since ras el hanout can be hard to find, we went with a blend of cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and black pepper. We finished with a drizzle of honey, which heightened the flavor of the pork and seasonings.
4
Servings
20 minutes
Ingredients
-
1
tablespoon honey
-
1
tablespoon lemon juice
Reviews
September 3, 2026
Quick and delicious use of tenderloin
A quick, simple, delicious way to use pork tenderloin. I learned to not to double the recipe as it is important to finish all the browning in as few batches as possible. Then serve quickly, keeping the meat hot and moist with the dressing.
November 13, 2025
Easy and flavorful
Good flavors. Pork cooks quickly so watch it. Made it several times for visitors as well since it’s so easy.
May 5, 2025
Outstanding with the right spice
Absolutely love this recipe when using high quality ras el hanout for the spice rub. Villa Jerada makes my favorite version.
October 5, 2024
A hit!
I made this tonight, but I modified slightly from this published recipe. I had watched the video, and in the video, Rosemary finishes the dish with some of what appears to be olive oil And then fresh herbs. This step is not in the published recipe. I did this as well, using fresh thyme leaves and finely chopped fresh rosemary. It was delicious! I did forget that in the video she also used fresh grated garlic in the honey-lemon sauce. So I will add that next time. This was delicious, tender, and quick!!! Served it with baked potatoes and apple sauce. I think it would also pair well with a nice green salad with a simple dressing. But I did really like the potato and apple sauce with it.
March 16, 2024
Tasty and quick
Perfect for dinner after a busy day.
Hi Jill -
Since everyone's stovetop heat yields somewhat different results, we chose to focus on the visual clue for the short recipes featured in our Cookish book. In this case, once the oil is heated to just smoking (that may be over high, medium-high, or medium on your stovetop), the oil is hot enough to add and cook the pork.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
In the book and on the tv, they had the meat sit in the bowl at room temperature for an hour. What happened to that step?
Hi Charles-
This version of the recipe is from our recently-published cookbook, Cookish. Cookish is a fresh take on fast food at home. Six ingredients. Minutes, not hours. Fresh, bold flavors for any night of the week. Therefore, the step in which the pork sits for an hour was removed. That's not to say that this version isn't as good it's just not going to have as pronounced a spice flavor as the original. You can find that version here - https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/pinchos-morunos.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Hi David -
We think that this spice crust adds a ton of flavor to the otherwise bland pork tenderloin so we didn't feel like we needed to dry brine here. However, if you decide to do so, pork tenderloin is a pretty small cut so doesn't require a ton of dry brining time. 6 to 24 hours is probably all you need. Maybe even less.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Thank you! I LOVE Cookish and gave it to both my daughters as a holiday gift so I mean no disrespect when I say if people hear have any more time they should search out the ORIGINAL Spanish pork bites recipe which has a couple of extra steps and ingredients. Dry-brining was WORTH it! My pork chunks were 1 to 1/4 inches and in addition to the salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, and smoked paprika, I added a tsp. of Berbere--which ramped up the spiciness and added its own magic. I put it in the fridge for 6 hours. Going by the original recipe again, I mixed the honey & lemon with minced garlic. At the end, I sprinkled it with fresh thyme because I didn't have fresh oregano--which is stronger and probably better but I wanted that herb-iness. This is a great recipe under Cookish conditions but a killer one if you put in a wee bit extra effort and time.
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You have not included which stove setting to use when heating the oil....High? Medium High? Medium??? I have everything to begin cooking and I just discovered....I am guessing medium to medium high....but it would be great to be sure...