Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Orange-Chipotle Glazed Pork Tenderloin


As I've said before, I love pork tenderloin. It is flavorful, lean, and easily adaptable to so many recipes. I Have also said how much I love the sweet-spicy-savory combination. We have recently discovered chipotles, so it should come as no surprise that this pork tenderloin was such a hit in our house. It was very simple to throw together last week; the only thing that was even slightly complicated was coating the pork in cornstarch... which isn't hard at all... just something a little different. I would not recommend skipping this step though; the cornstarch creates a "sandpapery" surface that will help the glaze stick to the pork instead of sliding off as you brush it on.

This is now my favorite way to cook pork tenderloin. It is juicy and so flavorful, with just enough spice to make it interesting.

Orange-Chipotle Glazed Pork Tenderloin
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
serves 6
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
  • 2 Tablespoons bourbon
  • 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground pepper
  • 2 pork tenderloins (1-1 1/2 lbs each), trimmed of fat
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 375 and adjust oven rack to middle position.

Stir 1/2 cup maple syrup, bourbon, orange juice concentrate, chipotles, and adobo sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Whisk cornstarch, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Pat tenderloins dry with a paper towel. Roll in cornstarch mixture to coat evenly on all sides. Pat off excess.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to smoke. Reduce heat to medium and place both tenderloins in skillet, at least 1 inch apart. Curve them around if necessary to fit them in the skillet. Cook until well-browned on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

Pour off excess fat from skillet and return to medium heat. Add syrup mixture to skillet, and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Transfer 2 Tablespoons of the glaze to a small bowl and set aside.

Using the remaining glaze, brush each tenderloin with about 1 Tablespoon of glaze. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 130 degrees, 12-20 minutes. Brush each tenderloin with another tablespoon of glaze and continue to roast until the thermometer registers 135-140, 2 to 4 minutes longer.

Remove the pork from the oven and brush each one with remaining glaze. Allow to rest, uncovered, about 10 minutes.

While the tenderloins rest, add the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup to the reserved 2 Tablespoons of glaze and whisk to combine.

Transfer the tenderloins to cutting boards and slice. Serve with remaining glaze.


2 comments:

Jessica - The Novice Chef said...

Great pictures!

P.S. I love your background, very cute!

Erin said...

I love pork tenderloin too. This looks great!

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