Why Pork Tenderloin Is So Expensive At The Grocery Store

If you're looking to whip up a fancy date night dinner, pork tenderloin is a tasty option. Not only is it a nice, juicy meat on its own, but you can wrap it in bacon, soak it in a tasty marinade, or serve it with a citrusy fennel side salad. But as luxurious as pork tenderloin is, there's a reason it tends to be reserved for special occasions. It's generally one of the pricier meats you'll find at the grocery store, and there are a couple of reasons why.

Pork tenderloin is a fairly small cut of meat, as it comes from a muscle on a pig's backside, and you can only get two of them per animal. Pork loin, which encapsulates the entire backside of the pig, is already tender, but the tenderloin is the softest part because of how little the animal uses this particular muscle. It's also boneless and cooks up quickly. And while you would think that such a supple cut of meat would be riddled with fat, it's actually pretty lean — the USDA even dubbed it as lean as chicken breast.

If you're looking for a regular pork tenderloin, you can usually find one in the range of $10 to $25. However, as one tenderloin generally doesn't feed more than three people, the cost of purchasing multiple can quickly add up. And, if you are looking for a specialty pork tenderloin, the cost can get much steeper.

Iberian pork tenderloins (unsurprisingly) come from Iberian pigs, which are considered the cream of the pork crop. If you've heard of jamón ibérico, this is another cut of meat from these pigs that undergoes an extensive process. But before they reach this step, these animals live only in the Iberian Peninsula, which spans both Spain and Portugal. They're mostly fed a diet of acorns and are given ample room to roam outside. The extra costs required to raise them this way mean that you may see one of these tenderloins going for up to $35.

When shopping for pork tenderloin, you'll want to look for a nice red or pink hue since lightly colored raw meat can be a sign that it's not high-quality. But you'll also want to see white marbling running throughout, although there will be less than with other cuts of pork. And if you do find a nice piece, don't be afraid to dish out a little dough for a tasty dinner.