Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Pan Sauce
Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Pan Sauce is a wonderful menu idea for a special dinner party.
- Prep Time: 6 hours 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 6 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: entree
- Method: roasted, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
1 1/4 pound pork tenderloin
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (used for searing the pork)
To marinate the pork
1/4 cup pomegranate juice (we used POM Wonderful)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup Agave nectar (honey may be substituted)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon anise seed
3 cloves garlic finely minced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
To prepare the pan sauce:
1/2 cup vermouth
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pomegranate juice (we used POM Wonderful)
1 peeled diced apple
1/3 cup Agave nectar (honey may be substituted)
1/2 cup reserved marinade
3 tablespoons cold butter
Instructions
- Trim silver skin from pork tenderloin.
- Mix pomegranate juice, lemon juice, orange juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, Agave nectar, ginger, anise seed, garlic, salt and pepper and pour into a gallon zip lock bag along with the pork. Marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Remove pork from the marinade and pat dry. Reserve ½ cup of the marinade and discard the rest.
- Heat a large oven proof skillet to medium high and add olive oil. Let oil heat to hot and place pork into hot oil.
- Cook the pork for approximately 3 minutes on each side. Try not to move it as it sears on each side. Once you flip it to the last side, place a probe thermometer into the thickest end and place the pan into the oven uncovered. When you attach the other end of your thermometer to your device, set the temperature to alarm at 140 degrees. Depending on the size and thickness of the tenderloin, this could take about 15 minutes.
- Once the temperature reaches 140 degrees, remove from the oven and place the pork on a plate to rest for 10 minutes before slicing, loosely covering with a piece of foil (leave the probe in while the meat rests).
- Note: The pork will continue to cook after it’s taken out of the oven so ideally, you want to remove it from the oven before it is fully cooked so that it doesn’t become overdone. You always want cooked meats to “rest” for 5-10 minutes after cooking so that the juices have a chance to redistribute throughout the meat.
- While the meat is resting, place a pot holder over the pan handle to remind yourself that the pan just came out of the oven and is hot.
- Drain off and discard all but one tablespoon of the fat left in the pan and return heat to medium high.
- Add vermouth and cranberries. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Once most of the vermouth has evaporated, about five minutes, add pomegranate juice, diced apple, Agave nectar and the ½ cup of reserved marinade.
- Cook until liquid is reduced by half, about ten minutes and the mixture is starting to get a little thick.
- Remove from heat and stir in the cold butter until it melts. The cold butter will slightly thicken the sauce. If it is too thick, thin slightly with additional pomegranate juice. If there is any liquid accumulated in the plate that the pork is resting in, add that to the sauce.
- Slice the pork and serve the sauce on the side.
