Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry and Raspberry Reduction

I'd love to tell you all about this amazing Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry and Raspberry Reduction, but you'll have to excuse me for a minutes while my family and I finish devouring it. Oh my. So sorry about that.

Wow, I want more. You know what that means don't you? That means you have to give this recipe a try. Thankfully it's not difficult at all.

For those of you who just want to see the recipe, it's posted at the bottom of the page. But for those who've never cooked a tenderloin before, let me walk you through the process.

Preheat your oven to 375F. Wash and dry your tenderloins. They're relatively small (1.25 - 1.5 pounds each), and they're often sold in packages of two. Be careful not to confuse them with much larger, less expensive "loins".

There's a small portion of opaque connective tissue on each tenderloin - they call it "silver skin. Silver skin gets very tough, almost inedible when cooked, so you definitely want to trim it off. Simply run a sharp knife against the underside of the silver skin to remove it.

Tenderloins are pretty lean, but trim any large bits of fat if you find any. Don't worry about small specks - they'll melt into the roast and add lots of flavor. Notice that one end of the tenderloin is much thinner than the rest.

Fold the thin part over onto itself and tie it with a piece of kitchen twine. You can skip this step if you like, but you should really give it a try. Doing so will protect the thin portion from overcooking.

Now it's time to season our tenderloins well with lots of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Don't be shy.

Time to sear the meat - do this in an oven-proof frying pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Sear the tenderloins well on all sides. As soon as all sides have attained a lovely brown color, pop the pan into your preheated 375F oven until the internal temperature or the tenderloins reaches 160F - about 20 minutes.

I can't wait!! But wait, we're not ready to eat just yet. Remove the tenderloins from the pan and place them on a cutting board to rest. Do Not carve the tenderloins yet. Your patience will pay off, I promise.

Now, see all the yummy goodness in the bottom of the pan? That's the base for our wonderful sauce (I mean reduction).

Deglaze the pan by adding the vinegar and chicken stock - you can throw in the garlic at this point, or wait until you add your preserves, whatever. I like to use this flat paddle to gently dislodge all the yummy brow bits from the bottom of the pan. Lesson: the technical term for all that brown yumminess on the bottom of the pan is "fond". The fond will dissolve into the chicken stock and vinegar. Mmmm - that's good. Very, very good.

By the way, be careful with that pan handle - it'll be extremely hot after being in the oven.

Now we choose our weapon, I mean preserves. I decided to use a combination of Black Cherry and Raspberry, but you can use any fruit you like.

Whisk the preserves into the pan. Don't be alarmed if you see a few chunks of fruit. I even added a few wild raspberries just to give it more gourmet appeal.

Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce by half - this should take about 7 or 8 minutes. Once the sauce is reduced, turn off the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of cold butter. That's it folks. Easy!

Do a quick taste test and adjust your seasoning if necessary. Slice your tenderloins into diagonal medallions and drown them in copious puddles of this luscious reduction.

I'm telling you what, I'll be making this dish again and again.

Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry and Raspberry Reduction

makes 4-6 servings 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pork tenderloins - (be sure to get tenderloin, not loin - tenderloins weigh about 1.25 to 1.5 pounds each)

• kosher salt and black pepper to taste

• 1/3 cup white vinegar

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup fruit preserves (I used 1/2 c black cherry and 1/4 c raspberry)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Prepare tenderloins by removing the "silverskin"; discard.

3. Fold the thin end of the tenderloin on itself and tie with kitchen twine; pat dry and season generously with Kosher salt and black pepper.

4. Heat a large oven-safe frying pan on high heat until very hot (really good quality cookware is a must).

5. Sear all sides of the tenderloins in a bit of olive oil until they have a nice brown crust all over (brown equals flavor!!).

6. Transfer the pan to a preheated 375F oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145F (medium-rare) to 160F (well done).

7. Remove the pan from the oven; place tenderloins on a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes while you make a sauce in the same pan the tenderloins roasted in.

8. To make the reduction (sauce), return the pan to the stove top over high heat.

9. Deglaze the pan by adding the vinegar and chicken stock; scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

10. Add the minced garlic and preserves; whisk to combine.

11. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduced by half.

12. Remove from heat and whisk in cold butter.

13. Slice pork diagonally into medallions; serve with generous amounts of sauce.

Note

• We practically licked the sauce off our plates it was so good. I think the sauce would also be good on pork chops, chicken breasts, even turkey. I can't wait to make it again.

recipe adapted from Chef John

10 Secrets for making Pizzeria Quality Pizza at Home

I know, I know... you can't make pizzeria quality pizzas in your humble home oven, right? Wrong.  You can!!

This post contains affiliate links.

Look, no soggy bottom crust here. Oh yeah baby!

You want to make some, don't you? Uh huh, you know you do.  Okay, wipe the drool off your keyboard and pay attention.  I'm going to share some of my pizza making secrets with you.  You'll thank me later. 

Secret #1 - Start by placing a pizza stone or baking steel on the 2nd lowest rack position in your oven and preheat it at 475F for an entire hour. I know that sounds like a long time, but trust me, you won't be disappointed when you bite into that crisp bottom crust.

A note on pizza stones (aka baking stones) - they start off very light in color and darken with use.  The darker they get, the more "seasoned" they become; developing a non-stick patina, like a cast iron pan.  These stones are great for baking bread and cookies too.  I highly recommend one for every kitchen. 

Secret #2 - I take my blob of risen pizza dough (recipe below) and press it into a 12-inch circle on a piece of parchment paper.  This eliminates the need for cornmeal or flour on the bottom of your crust (which I find very icky).

Secret #3 - Use a pizza peel to easily transfer the wet, sticky dough to the searing hot baking stone. To easily remove the crust from the oven, just grab a corner of the parchment and pull off the oven shelf, back onto your peel.

Secret #4 - I "dock" my dough to keep from developing big air bubbles during the baking process. You can use a fork to do this, but this cool tool is fun to use - poking holes all over the portion of the dough that will hold the toppings.

Secret #5 - I prebake the naked crust for 7-10 minutes. Note how the undocked edges rose during baking, while the docked center did not.

Secret #6 - I brush the edges of the crust with Garlic Oil.

Add your favorite jarred or homemade San Marzano Tomato Sauce and toppings.  You'll add whichever toppings you like, but I'm a purist - plain ole cheese pizza for me. I do, however, have to doctor it a little bit to mimic the nyc pizzeria pies of my childhood (which just so happens to be my next secret).

Secret #7 - I sprinkle a good healthy dose of dried oregano on top of that cheese. Again, trust me, this takes the pizza to an entirely new level. Now back into the 475F oven for another 7-10 minutes.

Secret #8 - Oops, I forgot to get a picture of this step, but when you take your finished pizza out of the oven, brush the edges with a little more olive oil and a light sprinkling of garlic salt. In this particular case, I used garlic flavored olive oil and a sprinkling of Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt (awesome stuff!).  Don't worry, the crust will absorb the oil so your fingers won't get too greasy, and it helps to keep the edges from being too dry.

Hubby and the kids are pepperoni pizza fans. If hubby had his way, there would be 2 or 3 times more pepperoni on this pizza.

Secret #9 - A while back I shared a tip about cutting brownies - you remember, use a plastic knife because the brownies won't stick to it?  Same theory applies here - this Oxo Non-Stick Pizza Cutter is designed for non-stick bakeware, but an added bonus is the fact that melted cheese doesn't stick to the hard plastic cutting wheel.  Nothing worse than using a cutter that pulls all the stringy melted cheese off your pizza, so I purchased this cutter the second I saw it at the store. It works perfectly and leaves all that wonderful cheese in place.

Secret #10 (last one) - If you don't have a pizza peel to transfer your pizza to and from the oven, you can use a flat cookie sheet or an upside down sheet pan like the one I used above.  A splatter screen works well too.

I hope you'll give some of my secrets the next time you make homemade pizza. Enjoy!

Links to some of the items used:

(affiliate links)

• stand mixer https://amzn.to/3zEXreh

• active dry yeast https://amzn.to/3UpWvTj

• pizza peel https://amzn.to/3WEqfhd

• pizza stone https://amzn.to/3r5Fu1y

• baking steel https://amzn.to/3DW7EFK

• dough docker https://amzn.to/3FFuOl7

• garlic oil https://amzn.to/3tFCVVq

• silicone pastry brush https://amzn.to/3T6wCGJ

• Jane's krazy mixed up salt https://amzn.to/3UpSJcx

• san marzano tomatoes https://amzn.to/3NtxDaR

• parchment paper https://amzn.to/3U1ZvFw

• nonstick pizza wheel https://amzn.to/3h98dTW

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ButterYum's Pizza Dough

makes one 12-inch pie
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water, 110-115F

Directions

To Make Dough in a Bread Machine:  

1. Add the ingredients to your bread machine following the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Process using the pizza dough cycle.

To Make Dough in a Stand Mixer:  

1. Combine water, sugar, and yeast; proof yeast mixture for 5 minutes.

2. Put dry ingredients into mixer fitted with a dough hook; add yeast mixture and olive oil.

3. Mix on low until ingredients are moistened.

4. Increase mixer to speed 2 and knead for 5-10 minutes.

To Make Dough in a Food Processor:  

1. Combine water, sugar, and yeast; proof yeast mixture for 5 minutes.

2. Put dry ingredients into food processor fitting with either the dough blade or metal chopping blade; add yeast mixture and olive oil.

3. Process ingredients until a ball of dough forms.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes.

To Prebake Crust and Prepare Pizza:  

1. Once the dough is kneaded, place dough in an oiled bowl and allow it to rise until it doubles in size; 30-60 minutes (this is a good time to preheat your oven and pizza stone to 475F).

2. Place risen dough onto parchment paper and press into a 12-inch circle.

3. Dock dough with a fork.

4. Prebake crust for 7-10 minutes.

5. Brush crust edges with oil; add sauce and toppings.

6. Return to oven to bake an additional 7-10 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and brush edges with oil again; lightly sprinkle oiled edges with garlic salt.

Notes

• I sometimes use garlic oil and salt in place of olive oil and garlic salt (Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt is another favorite).  

• Also, the unbaked dough will stick well to the parchment paper until the prebaking is complete, then you don't need it anymore and you can easily remove the parchment. Enjoy!

• Have someone with special dietary needs in mind?  Check out my Keto-Friendly Pizza Crust!  

No-Carb, No Cauliflower, High Protein, Gluten-Free, Keto-Friendly Pizza Crust