Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Maple Glaze

With Easter this year being a quieter meal due to the Covid restrictions we are all under, the traditional large ham will have to wait until our extended family can gather again in larger numbers. This wonderful pork tenderloin recipe with its delicate and delicious balsamic maple saucy glaze will be what we serve to celebrate Easter Sunday.

This dish is great for weekday dinners and also elegant to serve esteemed guests. Pork tenderloin is a lovely cut of meat – it’s lean and so versatile, flavourful, tender and so tasty! This recipe has you marinating the meat, which only takes a few minutes to pull together the night before or earlier in the day, and then takes literally minutes to complete the hands-on cooking before you put it in the oven to bake, allowing you time to prep side dishes – you can have dinner on the table in under 45 minutes.

Serve with rice, broad noodles, quinoa, crusty bread, mashed sweet potatoes, bouillon boiled baby potatoes, a mixed green salad, steamed or roasted veggies (these are easy to share space in the hot oven baking alongside the tenderloin).

As always, when you make this recipe, please post a photo of your Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Maple Glaze goodness and tag my IG account or leave a comment to share your thoughts!

Prep time: 15 Minutes / Marinating Time: 1 hour – 6 hours – overnight / Cook Time: 20 Minutes / Number of Servings: 1 Pork Tenderloin = 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients:
Double the ingredients if using 2 tenderloins

1 Large Pork Tenderloin
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil - (Alternates: Avocado or Grape Seed Oil)
For the Marinade/Sauce:
1 Medium Cooking Onion - diced
2 Large Cloves of Garlic – chopped (and let to sit for 10 minutes)
1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme – leaves removed – about 1½ teaspoon (Alternate: ½ teaspoon dried Thyme)
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/3 cup Maple Syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt – I use Herbamare – available at health food stores, Costco and many grocery stores
A few grinds of Fresh Pepper - (Alternate: ¼ teaspoon ground Black Pepper)
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/8 teaspoon Turmeric - optional

How It’s Made:

The night before you want to cook this dish, or at least 4 hours prior to cooking, whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade in a large measuring cup or a bowl.
Trim the tenderloin of visible fat and remove the white membrane that runs along the length of the meat. I insert a sharp pointed knife under that membrane and slide the knife along one side and then the other to remove it.
Place the trimmed pork tenderloin in a baking dish large enough to fit the meat (without crowding if you are using more than one tenderloin).
Pour the marinade over the meat and turn the meat in the sauce to coat it on all sides. Spoon some overtop. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and put the dish in the fridge - again, overnight is ideal or for 4 hours minimum for the meat to absorb the marinade flavour goodness.
When you are ready to cook this dish, preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a stove-to-oven safe pan, on medium high heat, add the olive oil and let it get hot. Remove the tenderloin from the marinade, keeping the marinade in the dish (don’t discard it!), and brown on each side until you have a lovely golden-brown sear. A minute on each side should be enough. If you don’t have a stove-to-oven safe pan, simply brown the meat in a skillet and then transfer it to a baking dish large enough to fit the tenderloin.
If using the stove-to-oven safe pan, turn down the heat to medium low, pour the marinade over the meat and let it simmer and bubble for a minute to become the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the tenderloin to baste it.
If using a skillet and transferring the meat to a baking dish, one you have browned the meat, reduce the heat to medium low, then add the marinade to the skillet and let it simmer and bubble for a minute to become the sauce. Turn off the heat, transfer the meat to the baking dish (perhaps the one it marinated in, washed and ready to use to bake the tenderloin in), pour the sauce over the tenderloin and baste by spooning the sauce over the meat.
Cover the stove-to-oven pan with its lid, or the baking pan with foil, to make a tight seal and put the pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove the lid/foil (keep the foil – you’ll need it in 5 minutes) and baste the meat by turning the meat in the saucy glaze that the marinade is now. Return the now uncovered dish to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
It’s always a good idea to check the meat with a meat thermometer but after 20 minutes baking time the meat should be cooked. You don’t want to overcook it. No thermometer? Cut into the thickest part of the tenderloin to see if it’s cooked – a faint pink is ok – bloody is not.
Remove the pan from the oven and cover the pan with its lid or tent the baking pan with the foil. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes.
Slice into thick medallions, and plate with the other items you are serving and spoon the heavenly balsamic maple saucy glace over the slices.