This pork tenderloin with balsamic glaze recipe is tops – seriously. If you weren’t too sure about the chicken with Coca-Cola, try this pork.
I was at the butcher shop buying this pork and overheard a woman talking to her friend about something silly her son had done with a knife. Inside I started to chuckle because I remember when Alan was about 8 or 9 and my brother sent him a really nice pocket knife for Christmas one year. I told Al he was too young for a knife and we would put it in his special box and when he was 12 he could have it He seemed happy with that arrangement.
One day I came home from work and dashed to get dinner on the table. I pulled out the cutlery drawer and along the sides of the compartments were little cutouts – almost like a scalloped edge to the trays. I had no idea what had caused it but I was busy.
As I was peeling potatoes, it dawned on me what could have caused those bits of wood to be missing. Alan was testing his knife!
“Alan, come here please.”
Now Al would never lie, well almost never because I would say that if he lied he’d be in much bigger trouble so he always admitted things with an “I’m very sorry and I’ll never do it again.” His sister on the other hand never did anything unless you caught her with the evidence in her hands.
I pulled open the drawer and said, “Do you know how this drawer got cut?”
“No, I don’t know.”
“Alan, did you cut this drawer with your knife from Uncle Jim?”
“No, you made me put it away.”
At this point I’m trying not to laugh out loud because it was so obvious that he was guilty but he just couldn’t admit it because he’d promised not to touch the knife. I sent him to his room to think about it for a while and later he confirmed that it hadn’t been him, he had no idea how the drawer got cut.
Fast forward 15 years to a family Thanksgiving dinner and we were talking about silly things that kids do and I looked at Alan and said, “So, Al, did you cut the drawer with Uncle Jim’s knife?”
“Of course I did, but I couldn’t admit I’d done something I told you I wouldn’t do. I just HAD to try that knife.”
“You’re a bad man!”
Alan loves pork tenderloin and he would love this one for sure. The glaze is tangy and sweet, thick and delicious. I miss my children and grandchildren this time of year and it would be great to cook this for them.
- 2 pork tenderloins, trimmed and tied together with kitchen string.
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
- ¼ cup caramelized balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey barbecue sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
- Place tied pork tenderloin in a large ziplock bag and pour over the marinade.
- Marinate for two hours (or overnight if you wish).
- Remove pork and put marinade in a large measuring cup.
- Preheat oven to 150C / 300F
- Heat ovenproof dutch oven to high heat and add oil.
- Sear pork on all sides and set aside.
- Into the dutch oven add ½ cup of the marinade and the cup of water and heat to boiling.
- Place the seared pork into the dutch oven, cover and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
- While the pork is cooking, place the remainder of the marinade and caramelized balsamic vinegar into a saucepan over medium heat.
- Reduce by half and it will be a gorgeous glaze.
- When the pork has been in the oven for 20 minutes covered, raise the oven temperature to 200C / 400F and remove the cover. Baste with half the reduced sauce (the other half you'll drizzle at serving time.)
- Roast uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 63C / 145F
- Rest for 10 minutes and slice. Drizzle with sauce and serve.