Tender pork tenderloin is brined for flavor and juiciness, then served with a sweet and spicy peach sauce that's simple to make.
Ingredients
For the pork:
3tbspsea salt
3cupswarm water
1/4cupvinegarI recommend red wine
1/4tspred pepper flakes
1tbspmolasses
1cupice cubes
2poundspork tenderloin
For the peach serrano sauce:
1tbspbutter
2serrano chilesminced and seeded (you can swap in your favorite chile here if you want)
1/2cuppeach preservesuse a high quality one, please
1/2cupwhite wineI used pinot grigio
1ripe peachpitted and diced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Trim off any excess fat and/or silver skin from the pork tenderloins.
In a big ziploc plastic bag, dissolve 3 tbsp salt in the warm water. Add the vinegar, red pepper flakes, molasses, ice cubes and the pork. Seal it up, and brine for exactly 20 minutes, and 20 minutes only. If you go too long, the meat will really start to break down and get mushy. We were given teeth for a reason =)
Remove the pork from the brine and pat very dry with some paper towels. We want to get a beautiful brown sear on it, and if there’s too much water, our meat will be gray and not brown and caramelized. Season the pork tenderloin with plenty of cracked black pepper.
Heat an ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat, and sear the pork tenderloin on all sides, until brown and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Stick the skillet into the oven and roast the pork until the interior reaches 150 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, which should take about 10-15 minutes. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes on a plate, and add any of the juices that collect into the sauce.
While you wait for the pork, make the peach serrano sauce. Melt the butter in a skillet, then saute the chiles in the butter for 5 minutes until softened. Add the peach preserves, wine, and diced fresh peach, and reduce over high heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Slice up the pork and serve with the peach serrano sauce. Enjoy!