PORK TENDERLOIN WITH RED WINE SAUCE

I really enjoy pork tenderloin wrapped in Applewood Smoked Bacon, browned on the stove top and finished in the oven.  You just season the tenderloin with cracked black pepper, wrap bacon around the tenderloin, and secure it with toothpicks.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Brown all sides on the stove top over a high heat in large oven-safe skillet, transfer to oven until it is cooked to your level of doneness.  I'm old school.  I can't eat pork that is not medium well.  I try, and could do it if my eyes were closed...but I just can't eat pink pork with my eyes open!  Anyway, it is easy to prepare and quite tender and delicious. 

I've wanted some sort of sauce to serve with it because I like sauce with meat...barbeque sauce, marinara sauce, cream gravy, brown gravy, Alfredo sauce, and even A-1 sauce or ketchup!  Sauce is good!  I've not found anything that just rang my chimes to go with pork tenderloin though.

I was searching for a wine sauce recipe and stumbled across a pork tenderloin recipe that had a Red Wine Sauce attached to it.  It seemed simple and just like something I would enjoy.  I knew I could use some of the flipflop Pinot Noir that I had opened to make the Red-Red Velvet Cupcakes (and sip on the deck afterwards).  I had enough to make the red wine syrup I wanted to have and just enough left for this recipe.  Perfecto!  I'll only be making 1/2 of this recipe...I doubt the teen will touch it and I'll just have a little.

RED WINE SAUCE

Adapted from Southern Living December 2002 recipe

Ingredients:

1 shallot or 1/2 half small sweet onion, finely minced

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flipflop Pinot Noir

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons corn starch

Method:

Saute shallot or onion in butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Add wine and allow to reduce for 3 minutes. 

Add beef broth and and bring to boil, cook for 5 minutes.

Stir cornstarch into water to make a slurry.  Make sure all lumps are dissolved.  Add to boiling broth mixture, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens (should just take a minute or so - don't walk away).

Remove from heat and spoon over sliced pork tenderloin or serve in a ramekin at the plate.

I served pork tenderloin (minus the bacon) with this delicious sauce...with sides of whole wheat orzo pilaf, green beans and some freshly baked bread.  The teen actually had a ramekin of sauce and I was surprised when I saw him dipping in it repeatedly!  I spooned sauce all over my pork tenderloin and the pairing of the two kicked everything up several notches!  When I tasted the sauce before serving, it was "tasty" but not outstanding.  The pork tenderloin was very yummy by itself.  The two paired together...eye-rolling delicious!!!

You know you are drinking a good wine when it tastes good in the glass AND tastes good when it is reduced to it's true essence.  You can't fake good on a reduction!  Can't wait for flipflop Wines to get to my part of the world...big thanks for the opportunity to sample.  It is some kind of yum!!!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!