Thursday, August 30, 2007

Black Pepper Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry Reduction

This succulent dish has all the things I love in a recipe; an easy piece of meat to work with, a super simple sauce that tastes like something that took hours, and the classic flavor combination of hot/tangy with sweet/fruity.

Our meat choice, the pork tenderloin, is one of the most user-friendly cuts ever. It requires about 3 minutes of trimming and you’re ready to rock. The sauce is made in the pan after the meat is cooked and the sweet and tangy fruit sauce pairs perfectly with the spicy black pepper crust on the pork. Since most of these tenderloins are pretty standard size at about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each, 20 minutes at 375F after a good sear in the pan is going to give you a perfect medium almost every time.

By the way, you can use any vinegar and fruit preserve in this recipe and it will be great, although there is something about cherry and black pepper that’s magical. Enjoy!




1 pork tenderloin (not loin)
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup black cherry preserves
salt to taste
lots of cracked black pepper
2 tbl butter

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

you make it look soooo easy! It is that easy?? I'm always scared to cook pork for guests.

Jon Gales said...

I've done something similar in the past, but with an orange based sauce (for more of a cuban style, it was served with yellow rice). Pork tenderloin is great, inexpensive and easy to cook.

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious. Would this work with chicken or fish? What would you do differently with them? Thx.

Chef John said...

would be ok with chicken or turkey breast roast, but too strong for fish. Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Great looking recipe!! I will try this over the weekend. Thank You for making cooking FUN and enjoyable for everyone!! Hope you will do demo's on some side-dishes like potatoes au-gratin or mac & cheese. I can never get those 'right', baking or cooking with cheese must be an art cause I can't seem to bring myself to use that awful velveeta stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef John, anonymous "cb" here from the other day w/ paul mccartney.... I am having problems with paypal. Can I send donations another way, or to a PO box? If no--I will find a way to work with paypal..

Got my LaCrusette today--and I cannot decide on a recipe--sheperds pie..thai beef stew--ah the choices! Thanks again for bringing the joy of cooking back and making this about the deliciousness in food... -cb

Chef John said...

Thanks for the kind comments! Unfortunately PayPal is my only option at the moment. I would give you my address, but you can imagine the crowd of fans that would descend upon me. ;) Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Looks great ... and I like tenderloins, but is there ever a time you would choose to use a loin instead of tenderloin? Why or why not? If you would - would you change the technique? Do you keep a couple of jars of jam/jelly on hand to make sauces? Which are your standards, cherry? apricot? Others?

Thanks...

Regarding PayPal - I've just never liked it. More options for payment may mean more payment:)

Chef John said...

i like loin too, but TL are just so fast and easy and way more juicy IMO. Any fruit jam works great with this I like blueberry, red currant, blackberry, etc.

yes, I agree with paypal opinion, eventually i get more options, Im still in content mode, but need to switch to ecommerce mode soon!

Unknown said...

can't wait to try this tomorrow... Would love it if you appended this recipe with some suggested sides, though; I can never figure out what should accompany some of these.

Chef John said...

check out the side bar categories for ideas, the Potato, Grains, Legumes, and Vegetables categories should give you ideas; easy cheesy potatoes, asparagus, stuffed squash, bean ragout, broccoli gratin etc, Look around!

Anonymous said...

I made this dish last Saturday night and it turned out beautifully. Alas, my girlfriend doesn't care for meat/fruit pairings but I sure do so she tolerates me as she does eat well courtesy of me. I paired it with scalloped potatos which worked out nicely. Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

The minute I saw this recipe posted, I knew I absolutely had to try the reduction. I didn't have any tenderloin on hand, so I crusted some center cut pork chops with the pepper (with some added sage) and served the Black Cherry reduction as a sauce over those. We just finished eating them, and my mouth is watering again. I am one of those people that LOVE fruit/meat combos. I served them with the Easy Cheesy Potato Grattan (sp?) you posted a while back (which has become a frequent flyer in my house). Thanks!!!

otto said...

I served this to my family, and everyone loved it! Two tenderloins disappeared faster than i could believe. Thanks for the recipe!

Jackie Reynolds said...

I'm planning to serve this to guests tomorrow. It looks and sounds wonderful! So what wine would YOU serve with this? We're thinking a syrah or pinot noir but value your opinion.
Oh, yeah, I finally cleaned my house.

Chef John said...

I think a Pinot would be great. But the syrah would also work. Enjoy!

Jackie Reynolds said...

we had the pork tenderloin with the black cherry reduction last night and the plate was literally wiped clean! It was so-o-o-o-o delicious. I used balsamic vinegar in the sauce and we found a 1989 Bin555 Australian shiraz (Wyndham) in our cellar and it was outstanding. Thanks for your great recipe.

Haptalon said...

I did this last night with orange marmalade instead of cherry preserve - very successful. Thanks for the idea

Spirit the Worlds Wanderer said...

Wonderful!! I am planning to try this with Morello cherries. Thx so much for the great recipes!

Anonymous said...

Made this again tonight for the fourth time. This has become one of MY "go to" recipes.

One complaint: NO LEFTOVERS!!!!

Of all the tenderloin recipes you've given us, this one is absolutely the best.

Thanks
Chicau

Anonymous said...

Hello CJ - I am a big fan of your site - great work!

I've been wanting a new pork recipe and this one looks like a real winner. What side dishes do you recommend?

Oh, FYI - this video doesn't seem to be on the FW site but is on youtube.

Regards o/

Chef John said...

i say check out the mashed potato or mashed cauliflower videos for sides. enjoy!

Carlos said...

Hi Chef John, another big thanks to you for your web blog! Just tried this last night and it sure did rock! My dinner guest just loved it! This time, my tenderloin came out juicy, and not the least bit dry, even though I made it well done. Also, the pan sauce was awesome! I think several things helped this be so great, I got a good sear, so good amount of caramelization was had, not to mention the magic of the black pepper and black cherries. I also used good quality preserves and made sure to do the monte-beurre.

Was wondering if instead of roasting, I cut the tenderloin into thin slices, then sauté it, then make the pan sauce and then poaching the sliced tenderloin in the pan sauce?

I figure that the pork will retain even more moisture this way.

Wanted to know how that sounds to you?

Chef John said...

Thanks! I've done it that way before, and its great, but I prefer the roasting for the moistest pork. easier to control.

Nicholas B. said...

Hi Chef John!

Your Blog is phenomenal. My wife and I are so irritated that we did not know of it sooner! Your recipes look fantastic and you explain everything so simply.

I was wondering if you have a good recipe for roast pork with crackling?

All best

Nicholas

Chef John said...

its on the list

Max Salazar said...

Hi Chef,

This recipe was so easy and it turned out great. I didn't have black cherry preserves but I did have some russian blackcurrant jam that I used instead and it was the most amazing sauce I've made it awhile. I like the idea of the butter at the end. I'm keeping that one.

Thanks,

max

kurt said...

Going to make this with my home-made Apricot/Mango/Red Chile Jam for the sauce and serve it with a lobster tail on the side

Anonymous said...

Im cooking this tonight for valentines day with an arugula side salad yummy.

Unknown said...

Just finished making this, used apricot and it turned out fantastic. 165 degrees and the meat melts in your mouth.

ileana said...

I just made this recipe... At first I though it was a little spicy, but that sauce was great. I did it with strawberry-blackberry jam..! Gracias Chef..! (From Venezuela, Latin America). I'll make this recipe for my College graduation, 15days from now.! =)

Chef John said...

cool. congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Excellent! We just found your site- and watch the vids via laptop in the Kitchen as we cook. My girlfriend is the chef of the family, but your vids are helping me kick it up a notch. We will be trying this again with varying fruits (and I think we went overboard on the pepper)

Many thanks.
Chris/Robin
Philadelphia, Pa

Jill Drapcho said...

Just made this (1/2 recipe) for myself & husband, who gave it 4 stars!!!! Served with rosemary/olive oil roasted potato wedges and green beans/almonds/shallots and inexpensive Colores del Sol Cab! Hope this is in an upcoming cookbook!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

This has quickly become one of my family's favorite dishes. I've done several fruit variations - all of which have been amazing. 100 stars to you on this one!

:)
ButterYum

PS - I blogged about it, giving you credit of course.

http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2010/06/pork-tenderloin-medallions-with-black.html

Anonymous said...

So funny just tooling about on the net and came across this recipe. Cooking small boneless tenderloin roast for the very first time. I'm doing a pineapple mandarine soy garlic marinade and cooking roast with it to use as basting sauce as well. My sides are white swan squash and baked potatoes...can't wait to taste it!

Anonymous said...

I made this for Valentine's day and it was amazing. I added a little bit of dark chocolate when i finished the sauce and it was a really great flavor with the pork and cherry.

Anonymous said...

Hello,
This is the second pork tenderloin recipe I've tried here and while I love the fruit/meat combo and ease of your recipes, the vinegar taste and smell in both recipes is way, way too strong for my taste. I'm not ready to give up yet though. Would you recommend reducing the amount of the vinegar, or using wine instead? If wine, what kind? Thanks much!

Chicau said...

Making this again tonight. I have about 6 or 7 people making this on a regular basis.

Tanx
Ed (chicau)

Bev said...

Made this already and it was delicious....restaurant quality. Thanks for sharing video too. Made everything so simple. Ready to serve to dinner guests.

jjsinla said...

So yummy! Threw my old pork tenderloin recipe out the window. I didn't have cherry preserves so went with blackberries and some diced prunes. Yum! Thank you!

LK said...

I'm having a great time trying your recipes, and basking in the accolades of my family. Thank you so much. I have a question on the Black Pepper Crusted Pork Loin with Cherry Reduction Sauce. The recipe calls for tenderloin (not loin), and I have a pork loin. Will that work?
I appreciate your input.

Thanks
LK

LK said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Chef John,

I just wanted to say, wow... this video is 10 years old, and the quality (and your kitchen) have only improved on what was already a great and wonderful offering in the realm of online cooking demos. I have learned a lot from your videos, and I will finally have a chance to make this dish for my wife (who I originally won over with your ultimate grilled cheese on an early date). All I can say is thank you so much, and I hope you get lots of sss.....salutations from your wonderful wife this Valentine's Day.

Cheers!

-RSC

Unknown said...

This dish was amazing! Thank you.

Rob 'Lumpy' Demperio said...

You have great recipes! I used bacon pepper jelly- with lots of caramelized onions- yum. Your carnitas recipe is another favorite