Bourbon Pork Tenderloin

Let's fall into a culinary adventure with this Bourbon Pork Tenderloin! This dish is seared to golden perfection and infused with vibrant flavors of lemon, apples, shallots, and thyme. It's finished with a bourbon, mustard, and honey glaze that is oh so mouthwatering! This recipe serves 4-6 people. The pork loin is wonderful on it’s own, but even more filling and delicious with roasted or mashed potatoes!

*I like the unique mild heat of Aleppo, but plain old crushed red pepper flakes work here too.

BOURBON PORK TENDERLOIN

• 2 lb Pork Tenderloin 

• 2 Medium Granny Smith Apples, sliced

• 4 Shallots, quartered

• 4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

• 2 tbsp cooking oil/rendered fat

• 1 Lemon, halved

• 1⁄4 cup Honey

• 1⁄4 cup Bourbon

• 1⁄4 cup Whole Grain Mustard

• 1 tsp coarse salt

• 1⁄2 tsp Aleppo Chili Flakes* 

• 1⁄2 tsp Pepper

TOOLS

Cast Iron Skillet or oven proof pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season tenderloin all over with salt, pepper & Aleppo. Heat cooking oil in cast iron skillet, then sear pork on all sides till golden brown, 5-6 min. 

Once meat is browned, squeeze half a lemon into the pan, and scrape up the brown bits. Then add apples, shallots & thyme. Stir occasionally for 3-4 min, until the apples & shallot start to brown. 

Move pan to the pre-heated oven, and let cook until the internal temperature reaches 145 (15-20 min). Meanwhile, whisk together bourbon, mustard, honey, and juice from other half of lemon.

Remove pan from oven and return to stove top. Add bourbon mixture, turning meat to coat, then remove meat & veg from pan and allow sauce to cook till volume is slightly reduced and sauce is thickened (2-3 min). Return everything to the pan and serve.