Simplicity may be the rule for many menu items, but executives at Outback Steakhouse took the opposite tack with their Sweet Glazed Roasted Pork Tenderloin. The goal, in part, was to create a dish that’s hard to copy, they said.
Officials at the Tampa, Fla.-based casual-dining chain season the tenderloin with a secret blend of more than a dozen spices, including hot pepper, then slow cook it daily at each location for two and a half to three hours at a low temperature. They want the tenderloin to remain moist even as it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the center. The dish is finished with a “drizzle” of apricot glaze and sprinkle of crushed corn flakes. Along with rolling out a complex recipe for mass reproduction, Outback prepares the item with a cool cooking technique.
“Slow cooking is one of the major trends of 2010, and smart operators are using the technique to lure patrons back to restaurants,” said Atlanta-based menu consultant Nancy Kruse. “It promises a home-style, comfort experience, and Outback’s use of apricot glaze gives it an upscale culinary touch.”
The dish “is symbolic of our culinary strength relative to other steakhouses,” said Tim Gannon, co-founder and senior vice president of Outback. “Our dream when we started Outback was that we were going to do something different. We were going to bring chef dishes at affordable prices. So our food is hard to do.”
For example, the chain’s signature Bloomin’ Onion has been attempted by others, but there haven’t been exact replicas that stood the test of time. “No one has been able to copy it,” he noted.
Getting a ‘pass’ from guests
While Outback’s executives wouldn’t disclose most specifics, such as the spice blend or cooking temperatures, they shared some insider information. The biggest difficulty with the slow-cooked pork was determining how much to fill, or “load” in the oven prior to service, since the long cook time prevents cooks from starting extra batches during busy services, explained George Rhode, director of culinary and menu development for Outback, which is owned by OSI Restaurant Partners LLC. Thus, he said, operators learned by trial and error.
“Unfortunately we had to run out a few times,” admitted Rhode, who developed the dish with Gannon. But after a while the individuals cooking at each unit were able to better gauge the amount needed. And the menu notes a limited availability.
“Now we have a track record,” Rhode said. “You get a feel. The days of the week may determine. On weekends you load maybe 40 percent more.”
But running out isn’t always bad, Gannon said. It reinforces to guests that the pork is really long-cooked.
“You have to explain to the guests that we cooked them for three hours,” Gannon said. “They really understand that. Anytime there is a slow-roasting process customers give you a pass.”
When at first you fail
Once they figured out the key to cook low and slow—without steam or an oven fan—in “slow roaster cookers” that Outback already had in its kitchens for cooking prime rib, the next hurdle was selecting pork accompaniments.
“The main thing people think about with pork is apples,” Rhode said. He wanted something new. “But a lot of people don’t know what apricot is. We thought it might be polarizing.” So they left the fruit’s name off the menu description and called it a “sweet tangy glaze.” Then they tried teaming the meat with sweet potatoes. It flopped.
“It was a little too sweet,” Rhode said. “It lost the balance of the sweetness with the sauce. Early on we looked at doing a cornbread dressing, but that was too countrified.”
So they settled on garlic mashed potatoes and steamed French green beans. The meal sells for $10.95 system-wide.
The price was right
According to Gannon, “It was an immediate hit for two reasons: The customers liked the quality,” he said, “and they appreciated the price.”
“We saw the turbulent times coming in 2008 and looked ahead. So we decided that we were going to redo our menu and do things differently. One thing was to bring some new items in at an affordable price.”
The dish, which was tested starting in September 2008, had a food cost that “was on target,” but Gannon withheld the exact number. He noted that the tenderloin was “a great buy,” which he contracted at a set price for 12 months.
ITEM: Sweet Glazed Roasted Pork TenderloinROLLOUT: March 2009COMPANY: OSI Restaurant Partners LLC, parent of Outback SteakhouseHEADQUARTERS: Tampa, Fla.UNITS: 970DESCRIPTION: slow-roasted pork tenderloin with apricot glaze and corn flake crumbsWEIGHT: 8 ounces of cooked pork and two sidesPRICE: $10.95DISH DEVELOPERS: Tim Gannon, co-founder and senior vice president; George Rhode, director of culinary and menu development
The dish was placed on the menu in March 2009, and the pork price was locked in again for another full year, Gannon said. The pork chop dish that the tenderloin replaced had included two 8-ounce chops priced at $15.
The new pork is perceived as more healthful than the chops, and is popular especially with women, Gannon said. “In some markets it has tripled the pork chop sales, and in others it doubled the sales. It also scores among the highest in customer satisfaction surveys.”
These days Outback tests new dishes with panels that analyze flavor as well as size, name and price, he said. “It might take a year to roll something out,” he noted.
“This one was out in four months because we felt that good about it,” Gannon explained. “We don’t do everything by testing. If you strictly use that procedure, you can be late into the marketplace with a hot new dish. There’s still an art to restaurateuring.”—[email protected]