I brined my tenderloin for 8 hours before and I HIGHLY recommend this if you can. Plays a HUGE role in tenderizing. Even with my pork slightly over cooked, it was still so incredibly tender. Only takes 10 min MAX to prep.
Overall super simple 1 pot dish. The dates go really good with the red wine sauce and tenderloin. This dish screams fall but hey when it’s good, it works anytime of year! If I could add one addition, I would recommend sautéing onions after searing the pork tenderloin. I think they would add an additional pop of flavor and soak in the juices. Carrots could also work well in this too. I sweetened the wine with a touch of squeezed orange but if you don’t have this it should still be good!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 3 tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 5oz red wine
- 1/2 squeezed orange
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 5oz chicken broth
- 1 tbsp flour
- 12 dates
INSTRUCTIONS
- Set up brine 8 hours before. Mix salt/sugar with 2 cups water. Pour over tenderloin. Place in fridge. Remove from fridge 2 hours before cooking to bring to room temp.
- Place skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1/2 tbsp butter. Sear tenderloin 4 min each side. Remove.
- Add rest of butter and garlic. Add red wine/orange/orange zest. Reduce by 1/2- about 10 min.
- Add in broth. Add in 1 tbsp flour. Mix together and bring to simmer.
- Add tenderloin back in and cover. Place over LOW heat. Simmer for 30 min or until reaches 145F. After 30 min mine was more cooked through than this (maybe at 170F) but it was still really tender (thanks to brining!).
- For the last 10 min of simmering, add in dates.
- Taste and make sure sauce consistent is good. Plate with veggies and starch of choice. Sweet potatoes worked great with this !