BOURBON & MOLASSES-GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN

Posted in Pork by sallybr

Do you use Feastie? It is one of my favorite sites to find interesting recipes and new blogs. Not too long ago, I did a search for pork tenderloin and a recipe using bourbon, coffee, and molasses popped up. I saved it right away. A simple marinade, with very complex flavors. Plus, as a bonus I got to know a new (to me) food blog, with a cute name: Ezra Pound Cake!

MOLASSES-GLAZED GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN
(adapted from Ezra Pound Cake)

Two 1-pound pork tenderloins
1/4 cup strong black coffee, cold or room temperature
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the tenderloins, pat them dry, and trim off the silver skin and any excess fat. Place them in a shallow container or large resealable bag. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the coffee, bourbon, molasses, vinegar, olive oil, and thyme.

Pour the marinade over the pork, and turn to coat on all sides. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. (Turn the pork a few times to evenly distribute the marinade.)

Light your grill. Remove the pork from the marinade, reserving the marinade, and season with salt and pepper. Grill the pork to your desired degree of doneness. I like to use the 7-6-5 method (seven minutes over a hot grill, brush with marinade, flip the meat and grill for 6 minutes on the other side, turn the grill off without opening the lid, and leave it inside for the final 5 minutes).

Remove the pork from the grill, and transfer to a cutting board. Cover loosely with foil, and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the pork into small medallions and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This recipe reminded me of a favorite of mine, blogged about a couple of years ago. It made me realize how much I love to use coffee (and also tea) in savory recipes. I must say, though, that Phil prefers when I butterfly the meat before marinating and grilling it. He likes his pork well cooked, and the 7-6-5 method makes the thickest region of the pork a tad undercooked for his taste. Of course, you can always grill it a little bit longer to please your guests. Because of the molasses in the marinade, if your grill runs super hot, you might want to tone it down a little. I said it before, but it’s worth repeating: pork tenderloin is the busy cook’s best friend! 😉

A cool feature of Feastie: you can find a nice database for recipes of many food blogs, including the BK. Check my collection here.

ONE YEAR AGO: Scallops in Orange-Caramel Sauce

TWO YEARS AGO: Fire-Roasted Tomato Risotto

THREE YEARS AGO: Cranberry-Teriyaki Lamb Rack with Couscous Salad

11Aug2012

THAI-INSPIRED PORK TENDERLOIN

Posted in Pork by sallybr

The combination of marinade and hot-sour sauce for this recipe came from Rachael Ray’s show, “Week in a Day”. She used it to flavor chicken legs and pork ribs, but I went on a slightly different route and applied it to butterflied pork tenderloin. The marinade is superb, but what made the dish ultra-special was the sauce to be served alongside. Heads up: the sauce starts with a ginger-infused simple syrup that must cool down before the other ingredients are added. Start early… 😉

GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH THAI-MARINADE
(adapted from Rachael Ray’s Week in a Day)

1 pork tenderloin, butterflied, lightly pounded to even thickness

for marinade:
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 stalk lemongrass, white part chopped
1 lime, sliced

for sweet and sour chili sauce:
1/3 cup superfine sugar
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 lime, juiced

For the marinade: Combine the cilantro, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, chile peppers, ginger and the white part of the lemongrass in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. It will be fairly thick.

Place the butterflied pork inside a plastic bag or a pyrex baking dish, and pour the marinade all over it, massaging the pork to coat well. Add the lime slices, close the bag or cover the dish with plastic film. Place in the fridge for 1 to 4 hours, the longer the better.

While the meat marinades, make the sweet and sour sauce. Combine 1/2 cup water, the sugar and ginger in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then cook gently for a couple of minutes to infuse the syrup with the ginger. Pour the syrup into a small bowl and let completely cool. Remove the ginger, then stir in the vinegar, cilantro, mint, Sriracha, fish sauce, and lime juice.

Remove the meat from the fridge 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking. Heat the grill on high. Right before grilling, brush off most of the marinade, and cook the meat to your liking (about 12 minutes total, flipping the meat halfway through the cooking time). Let it sit tented with aluminum foil for 10 minutes before slicing at an angle.

Serve with the sauce alongside.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This recipe was a big winner, it crossed the finish line like Usain Bolt , leaving all other recipes behind! Intense flavor all around, I swear I could eat that sweet and sour sauce by the spoonful, it is addictive. Thick, sweet, gooey, spicy, hot, I could not stop pouring it over the meat… Phil at some point asked “would you like some meat with your sauce?” 😉 I blame the Sriracha. It gets me every single time. I hope you try this recipe, don’t let the number of ingredients scare you, once you get the marinade and the sauce ready, it’s pretty much a done dinner deal.

ONE YEAR AGO: A yummy Brazilian cake: Bolo de Fuba

TWO YEARS AGO: Summer’s Tomatoes

THREE YEARS AGO: Leaving on a jet plane…

20Jun2012

PORK PAPRIKASH

Posted in Pork by sallybr

When I lived in São Paulo one of my favorite dishes was the paprika schnitzel from a German restaurant called “Jucalemão“. Sauteed pork cutlets, pounded thin, were served hidden beneath a sea of deliciously creamy sauce, bright with the color of paprika, and paired with three big potato dumplings (knodels). I learned of Jucalemão at age 19 from my first boyfriend, and my last visit was 14 years (or…. two boyfriends and a husband ;-)) later. When I left Brazil for good, I never returned. Whenever we come back to São Paulo for a visit I intend to stop by with Phil, but something always prevents us. As a result, I have a permanent craving for that fantastic dish. I’ve ordered pork paprikash in other places (even in Germany!), but it was not as I remember it from Jucalemão. So, when I got a feed from Martha Stewart Everyday Food with the two magical words on the subject, a deep feeling of nostalgia hit me. I had to make it, even though I knew it would be a different take on the dish of my past.

PORK PAPRIKASH
(adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food)

Coarse salt and ground pepper
egg noodles
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise, cut in slivers
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 can (14 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup sour cream

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles until tender; drain and return to pot. Stir in a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking, cover and set aside. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine pork with 1 tablespoon paprika; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet, when very hot add the pork slivers, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Return skillet to stove; reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon oil and shallots; cook until the pieces are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add pork, remaining tablespoon paprika, tomatoes with their juice, and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook, until sauce is slightly thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon,about 5 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat, and stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper. If necessary, warm it up over very gentle heat, just briefly. Serve paprikash over noodles.

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I had never treated pork tenderloin by this method of cutting in slices and stir-frying. I toned down my expectations, assuming it would turn out too dry. Well, we both enjoyed our meal quite a bit. It doesn’t have the complexity of a similar preparation using pork butt or shoulder, but it was flavorful enough with all the paprika, and cooked so fast that I can see myself adapting other sauces and seasonings to bring tenderloin to our table. Until now, I’d always resorted to either the 7-6-5 method, or butterflying it and grilling (Phil’s favorite kind).

As to the pork paprikash of my past, maybe I should contact the restaurant. I got this craving, and January is still pretty far away… 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Roasted Tomato Soup

TWO YEARS AGO: Auvergne Rye Bread with Bacon

THREE YEARS AGO: Anticipation

26Mar2012

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: ORANGE AND ROSEMARY PORK TENDERLOIN

Posted in Pork, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

The time has come again, for the much awaited Reveal Day of The Secret Recipe Club! I felt a shiver up and down my spine when I got my assignment, and it is easy to see why: my assigned blog, A Taste of Home Cooking, has been around since 2006! She is a veteran food blogger by definition!

I struggled to choose a recipe, because too many appealed to me, and to make my life even harder, she kept publishing new posts with more enticing stuff, like a recent Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Cream. At some point, I had to quit going back, and settled on two possibilities, the first you’ll see today, of course, but I will be making the other one soon, independent of the SRC.

ORANGE AND ROSEMARY PORK TENDERLOIN
(slightly modified from A Taste of Home Cooking)

2 pork tenderloins
4 oranges, juiced
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
chopped parsley leaves

Cut the tenderloins in 3 or 4 equal portions and place them in a plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour them over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, massaging the meat when you have a chance, or moving the pieces around).

Preheat the oven to 370 degrees. Remove the pork from the fridge and pour the marinade into a small saucepan.

Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Place the pork pieces into the skillet and sear on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Put the skillet in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until cooked through (the meat should be pale pink in the center; if using a meat thermometer, the recommended safe internal temperature is 160°F), flipping the meat a couple of times during the roasting.

While the meat is roasting, put the saucepan with the remaining marinade over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Keep boiling, uncovered, stirring regularly, until the marinade has reduced halfway. Add in the cream, salt and parsley. Stir, and keep warm over low heat.

When the meat is ready, remove the skillet from the oven, and transfer the meat to a cutting board. If there are any juices in the skillet add them to the sauce and bring back to a boil. Cut the meat pieces into thick slices and serve with the sauce,sprinkling more fresh parsley on top.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe was originally from Clotilde, of Chocolate and Zucchini, another ultra-veteran blog, but I followed all the modifications from “A Taste of Home”, like browning the meat before, and increasing baking time. Departing from both versions, I opted for an amount of cream halfway between them. You can get by with less, maybe a couple of tablespoons, or splurge, but I felt the meat had just the right amount of naughtiness the way I made it… 😉

After making this recipe, I am convinced we should all use oranges more often in sauces, marinades, salad dressings. They bring the citric component, but a lot more natural sweetness.

I loved this month’s adventure at The Secret Recipe Club! If you want to see what my fellow bloggers came up with, simply click on the links brought to you by the cute blue frog below.

Note added after publication: curious to see who got the Bewitching? Jump to “The Double Dipped Life”, and see the recipe she chose (a favorite of ours, by the way).

ONE YEAR AGO: Pistachio-Walnut Sourdough Bread (we loved this one!)

TWO YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

21Mar2012

MY SECOND GUEST BLOG FEAST!

Posted in General, Pork by sallybr

A while ago I was invited to write a guest post over at Feastie, and I chose a sourdough bread for the occasion. To my delight, I recently got a second invitation to do a guest feature. My Mom has always told me that if you are invited twice to go to someone’s house, it must mean they like you, so I hope it works the same for food blogging! 😉 Jessica asked me to blog on any type of meat recipe. We are meat lovers here, so that was not a problem. But I don’t face any challenge without some hyperventilation (and a little drama), so my poor husband had to endure me walking in circles around the kitchen, talking to myself, talking to the dogs, trying to pick the perfect recipe. That odd behavior lasted for about a week. It can be unsettling after a while. My Mom got it right twice: I married a saint.

So, if you are wondering what all my hyperventilation led to, jump right over to Feastie and find out! Two words for you: pork and spinach. Three: feta. Four: delicious!