Pork tenderloin with garlic balsamic sauce

Pork is not frequently served in my house and the only pork that I will usually cook is bacon, pork chops, or pork tenderloin. I just don’t like the taste of pork, which is a result of spending many, many hours of clerking hog shows at our county fair. Same reason I can’t.eat.goat.cheese.at.all. Ask me about it sometime. My husband grew up in the Midwest on a farm where they raised hogs. It probably makes him sad that I don’t cook his favorite pork meals from his youth, however, there have been a few times that our pork chops tasted a bit porky and he turned up his nose, leaving me to believe that he may have the same aversion to it as I.

I do have a recipe for pork tenderloin with garlic balsamic sauce that I just love and my girls do too. In fact, my youngest daughter mentioned earlier this week that I had not made it in a while, so I bought a pork loin and made it last night.

While we usually eat it hot, I have served this pork tenderloin recipe cold as an appetizer. I marinated the cooked meat in the sauce overnight and my guests loved it.

Ingredients for the pork tenderloin with garlic sauce sans the pork

Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Balsamic Sauce

• 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of visible fat
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sweet hot mustard (I use Beaver Brand)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
• 1 cup beef broth or chicken broth
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

Coat the pork tenderloin with the mustard. Place the tenderloin on a broiler pan or a wire rack on in a pan. Turn on the broiler and broil the tenderloin about 5 inches from the heat element until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF–about 5 minutes on each of the four sides. Remove the tenderloin from the oven and put on a platter and cover with foil. Leave covered for about 10 minutes–pork will continue to cook. Remove the foil and thinly slice the pork.

While the pork is cooking, start making the sauce. Over medium heat, heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Brown the garlic in the hot oil. Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and boil until the liquid is reduced by half and it has thickened, about 15 minutes.

There are two ways that you can complete this recipe–or three if you go for the marinating the cooked pork overnight in the sauce method.

1. Pour the sauce over the sliced pork on the platter and serve.

2. Place the sliced pork in the sauce in the saucepan and cook for about a minute, making sure all of the slices of pork are coated with the sauce. Don’t overcook or the tender pork will become tough. My family and I like this method the best.

If you have any pork and sauce left, try marinating it overnight. I think you will be glad you did.

~merry~