Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Mint Sauce

This pork tenderloin with blackberry mint sauce is packed full of sweet fruity flavor. Blackberries combined with mint, port wine and sweet maple syrup. 

Anytime I go out to dinner at a nice restaurant I almost always order pork. I know it sounds weird but you seriously cannot go wrong with a perfectly cooked piece of pork. It’s juicy, tender and tastes good whether it’s roasted, fried or grilled. I think the secret is that chefs have been cooking their pork to 145 long before anyone told them it was ok to do so. Lets face it – overcooked pork is not so delicious.

I’ll admit that I was once an overcooker of pork. I let it roast until it was no longer pink and then it laid there on my plate looking sad and pathetic.

Sigh.

How could I do that do a beautiful piece of pork?

Well I’m back to redeem myself. Actually last year I made a Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa that was pretty redeemable BUT I’m here to step it up once again. I’m here to prove that pork should ONLY be cooked till it reaches 145 degrees and that a pink center is a-ok.

Even though I’m a huge fan of ham (hello pineapple bourbon butter glazed ham) I think it’s fun to change up Easter just a bit. Why not serve pork tenderloin instead? It cooks in just 30 minutes and won’t hog up all the oven space like a big old ham.

Plus, who doesn’t love pork tenderloin?

Annnnnnd who doesn’t love pork tenderloin when it’s smothered in a quick homemade blackberry mint sauce? The sauce combines fresh blackberries, port wine, maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice and fresh mint. It’s thick, luxurious and ready in under 20 minutes!

How fun (and delicious!) is that?

{Looking for even more pork recipes? Try my pork chile verde, pulled pork mac and cheese or my homemade breakfast sausage.}

You know what else is fun? The Ohio Pork Council is hosting a “What Type of Kitchen are You?” survey on their website (www.ohiopork.org) now – April 7th. They are giving away three Fiestaware casserole dishes to three lucky Sweepstakes winners who pin their results by 4/7/15. Plus the Ohio Pork Council is donating one meal of pork to a local food bank for each entry, up to 25,000 meals.

Make sure to head on over and enter the contest. You’ll not only get the chance to win some fun Fiestaware dishes but the chance to help fill your local food bank with some delicious meals.

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Mint Sauce

This pork tenderloin with blackberry mint sauce is packed full of sweet fruity flavor. Blackberries combined with mint, port wine and sweet maple syrup.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin
• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 12 ounces blackberries
• 1 cup port wine
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons packed mint leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle your pork tenderloin with kosher salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in an oven safe skillet.

Brown all sides of the meat, stick a thermometer into the middle of the meat and roast in the oven until the internal temperature is 140 degrees, about 20 minutes depending on size. (I keep a thermometer in the pork while cooking so I can easily check. If you don't have an oven safe thermometer I would start checking on the pork at the 15 minute mark)

Remove from the oven and let sit until it reaches 145 degrees, about 7 minutes.

While the pork is roasting start your sauce.

In a small skillet add blackberries, port wine, port wine, maple syrup, orange juice, orange zest and thyme leaves. Cook for about 10 minutes until the berries have started to soften.

Add hot berry mixture and mint leaves to a blender and puree until smooth. If you have a high powered blender your mixture will probably be smooth but if it's not smooth simply strain it through a sieve.

Add mixture back to your skillet and simmer until the sauce is thick and hot.

Slice your pork after it have rested, drizzle with blackberry sauce and sprinkle with chopped mint if desired.

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by the Ohio Pork Council and the Ohio Soybean Council. As always all opinions and non-sensical ramblings are 100% my own.