Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce

I was hoping to put together a few recipes that you could serve for Christmas Dinner.  I wanted things that were a little different from the norm and that would look fancy enough for Christmas dinner but actually be quite simple to make.  Then, I saw this recipe for pork tenderloin with cranberry sauce over on Tasty Kitchen last week. I decided that it was one of the recipes I was going to make.  Today is a main dish recipe you could use for your Christmas dinner. Then, I am going to share a yummy potato dish tomorrow followed by a delicious salad on Thursday.  All could be put together for one meal or you can just pick and choose what you want and easily add it to you Christmas dinner.

So, Tasty Kitchen is another site from Ree Drummond – The Pioneer Woman.  That is where I noticed this recipe.  I figured I was pretty safe with her recipe because I’ve always had a good experience with any recipe that I have tried from her.  The recipe calls for a pork loin, which you can find on sale for around $1.99 a pound.  I only had a pork loin roast in my freezer,  and from what I understand that’s just a pork loin tied into a roast.  They just fold it in have and tie it with butcher’s twine. 

I liked the roast idea anyway because it was easier to fit in my pan. 

However it did take twice as long to cook as the recipe said.  Then I adapted the sauce recipe slightly from what Ree did.  She used fresh rosemary, I used dry.  I also left out the red wine and used more cranberry sauce.  The sauce needed to be thicker for me.  I really loved how the sauce turned out.  I started with my recipe for homemade cranberry sauce.  You have the sweetness along with the slight tartness from the cranberry sauce then add savory flavor from the onions, chicken broth, and rosemary.   The sauce for the pork loin turned out fabulous.   Delish.

Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce

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• Author: Laura

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Ingredients

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• 1 whole Pork Tenderloin, Trimmed Of Fat (I used a pork loin roast)
• Salt And Pepper (to Taste, I used kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
• 3 Tablespoons Butter, Divided
• ½ whole Medium Onion
• ½ tsp. dried rosemary
• ¾ cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 cups (generous) Cranberry Sauce (homemade Or Canned Is Fine! I used my homemade)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Generously season pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, be really generous.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear tenderloin on all sides, using tongs to move it around. If you don’t have an oven proof skillet, just use a regular skillet, then transfer to an oven safe dish.
4. Remove pan from heat and place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thermometer inserted registers 155 to 160 degrees. (Since I used a pork loin roast  that was a little icy it took more like 30-40 minutes to cook mine to 155 degrees) Set pork on a cutting board to rest (I let it rest for about 5 minutes).
5. In a separate skillet while the pork loin cooks, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for a minute or so until slightly tender and chicken broth. Add rosemary. Stir together, then add cranberry sauce.
6. Heat mixture over medium heat and cook for two or three minutes. Add more cranberry sauce to achieve desired consistency.
7. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if needed (I did taste the sauce and added some salt and pepper).
8. Slice pork loin and place on a platter. Spoon cranberry sauce over the top.

 

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