December 13, 2011

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Red Currant Sauce


Simple to prepare yet elegant and full of flavor.  The sauce is sweet and tangy and the pork is tender and juicy.  This was a huge hit with my family and I will definitely be making it again.  You can substitute the red currant jelly with any of your favorite flavors such as strawberry, cherry, blueberry, etc.  You can even substitute with leftover cranberry sauce.


Ingredients:
  • 1 pork tenderloin 
  • 2 tbsp olive oil 
Spice rub
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp onion salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder 
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/8 tsp dried marjoram 
  • 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
  • Reserved pan drippings
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 c chicken broth 
  • 1/4 c to 1/3 c red currant jelly, or to taste (I use 1/4 c)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 1/2 tsp parsley 
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp rosemary 
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine the parsley, thyme, rosemary, onion salt, garlic powder, oregano, marjoram, kosher salt and pepper.  Massage the seasoning mixture evenly over the pork tenderloin.  Heat olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the pork on all sides until deep brown.  

Transfer the skillet to the oven.  Roast until a thermometer reads 140 degrees, about 25 minutes (depending on the size of your tenderloin).  Turn the tenderloin over once halfway through cooking.  Remove the pork from the oven and wrap it in tin foil.  Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.  Reserve the pan drippings.  

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Using the same skillet, place it over medium-high heat on the stove top.  Stir the butter into the pan drippings, until melted.  Deglaze with the chicken broth, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the jelly and balsamic vinegar.  Season with the orange zest, parsley, thyme and rosemary and add a pinch of kosher salt.  Bring the sauce to a boil and continue to cook and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.  

Slice the pork tenderloin and pour the sauce over all.  

Enjoy!


5 comments:

  1. why the heck am i reading your blog before i ate breakfast! this sauce sounds amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. currant- now that is a holiday flavor that doesn't get enough attention in my book. This looks fantastic

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can see why this pork tenderloin was a big hit. It looks amazing.

    Cheers.
    Velva

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you! :)

Featured in: