Cary Groth shares her winning recipe for entertaining.
Leadership experts would agree that a great leader knows how to empower others. Cary Groth is that type of leader. After all, in just one hour of conversation, she influenced me to want to try cooking on a salt block.
“I am telling you, it’s delicious!” she says, knowing that I will do it.
A Good Sport
Groth certainly is an influential figure, and her career in intercollegiate athletics deserves a spotlight. She broke ground as the first woman to serve as athletic director at two Football Bowl Subdivision institutions — University of Nevada, Reno and Northern Illinois University in her home state — and was inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame. After moving to Nevada in 2004, she led UNR to 21 Western Athletic Conference championships until her retirement in 2013. Or, more accurately, when she attempted to retire. As it turned out, retirement didn’t quite suit her.
“I walked my dogs, pursued hobbies, and stayed busy … but I found myself really bored,” she admits.
It didn’t take long for her to transform that boredom into opportunity. In 2014, Groth founded The PICTOR Group, a women-led consultancy firm in intercollegiate athletics, which has helped more than 100 clients to date. Plus, as the director of sports management programs at UNR since 2020, she leads its efforts to provide students with an in-depth look at the industry, taught by seasoned professionals. The program already boasts an 80 percent success rate in long-term job placement.
She truly is unstoppable, or, as the Sports Business Journal put it in 2023, a “game changer.” The publication recognized Groth and 49 other women who have significantly affected the sports world, in many aspects, from teams and leagues to networks and agencies.
Getting Salty
It’s clear that talking about her accolades is not Groth’s cup of tea — she is humble by nature.
“Aren’t you going to ask me about how I learned to cook?” she asks with a big smile.
She wishes she could cook more often than she does, but her eyes light up with excitement as she shares stories of the culinary-related Christmas gifts she has received in the past — a Traeger grill and a salt block for cooking on.
“The smoked flavor is a bit new for me, but I really like it,” she says.
It seems that Reno, Groth’s home for the past two decades, has presented her with memorable work but also new food experiences to which she otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed.
“Growing up in the Midwest, I don’t think I had even heard of the word artichoke,” she says.
While she misses home — particularly Chicago’s pizza — and her family, of course, she fell so in love with the Reno community that even her parents followed her here.
And what about that salt block? She says the large slabs of salt can stir up quite a debate online, yet she has had success when using them correctly. She emphasizes the importance of marinating the meat well and bringing it to room temperature before cooking. Equally crucial is ensuring the salt block is thoroughly heated before it’s used.
“Salt block pork tenderloin is my go-to recipe for entertaining,” she says.
The cauliflower side dish she shares is an adaptation she experimented with after tasting something similar at a steak restaurant in Orlando, while attending the NCAA National Tennis Championship.
“I figured it would be unique,” she says.
And it is — just like the woman herself.
Salt Block Pork Tenderloin
(courtesy of Cary Groth, director of sports management programs, University of Nevada, Reno. Serves 4 to 5)
1 pork tenderloin (usually about 1 pound or more)
6 ounces pineapple juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Tajín seasoning
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Combine all ingredients except pork to make marinade, then marinate pork tenderloin overnight.
Before cooking, bring tenderloin to room temperature. Place a salt block on the grill and heat it to 500 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. This will ensure that the salt block is properly hot. Cook tenderloin on each side for a total of 10 to 12 minutes, or until done.
Steamed/Broiled Cauliflower/Romanesco
(courtesy of Cary Groth, director of sports management programs, University of Nevada, Reno. Serves 4)
1 head cauliflower
4 teaspoons aioli (store-bought is fine)
½ cup Cheddar cheese, grated
Clean a full head of cauliflower (white, orange, green, or purple). Cut an X across the top of the head, about 2 inches deep. Spread the aioli on top, making sure to work it into the X and the crevices of the cauliflower. Steam cauliflower until tender. Remove from steamer and place on a cookie sheet. Cover top of the cauliflower with grated Cheddar cheese. Make sure cheese goes into X cuts. Place under broiler until cheese is melted and charred. Remove cauliflower from broiler and cut in quarters, using X as a guide.
