Recipe
Rub for the Pork Tenderloin
1 pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon Marjoram
1/2 tablespoon Oregano
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of good olive oil. (I used a harissa flavored olive oil)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Ingredients for the Grape Reduction
1 pound of seedless grapes
1/4 cup of dried cherries or craisins (to add a bit of sweetness)
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot finely diced
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 cup of white wine (any type)
1 cup of chicken stock
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 stalk of green onions chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, juice of the lemon, marjoram, oregano, salt, black pepper and the hot paprika.
If you have a skewer on hand or anything pointy, poke some small holes all over the loin. I did this to get some of the marinade into the pork.
Pour the mixture over the pork tenderloin and using your fingers rub the marinade in over the pork. Cover and set aside to marinate for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 420 degrees.
Rinse and drain your grapes.
Heat a skillet on the stove and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots, thyme and oregano. Sauté for about a minute. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan. Let this reduce for about 2 minutes.
Add the grapes and the dried Craisins or cherries to the skillet. Let this heat through and continue to cook for about 6 minutes.
Meanwhile in a bowl whisk together the chicken stock, corn starch (thickening agent) and the mustard. Pour this mixture into the skillet with the grapes.
Cover the skillet and let the sauce reduce and thicken to a consistency that you like. I had large grapes so I used a potato masher to gently break up my grapes.
Once the sauce has reduced, season with salt and black pepper. Add the green onions. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In another heavy bottom skillet (once that can go directly into the oven) heat the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Once the oil is hot sear the tenderloin on each side. This should get a nice brown crust.
Once the tenderloin has been seared, pour in the rest of the marinade from the pork and pop that into the oven until the internal temp of the pork is 140 degrees.
Once you remove the pork from the oven cover with a tin foil loosely and let it sit for 7 minutes before slicing it so that the juices do not run out.
After slicing pour that beautiful grape reduction over the pork!
Not to pat myself on the back…but one of the best pork dishes I have ever cooked!
