Recipe: Ginger Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Here is a hearty and delicious recipe fancy enough for a holiday feast, yet simple enough to make for a Sunday family dinner. Ginger and soy sauce gives this classic cut of meat an Asian twist of big flavor which will tantalize the most advanced palate, and they'll never need to know it only has 6 ingredients!

Easy enough for beginner to intermediate cooks, but those who eat it may just mistake you for a gourmet chef!

Ginger Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin
(Serves 4 as a main dish.)

Ingredients:

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1.5 lb pork tenderloin (naturally raised or organic)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger root, grated
2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
* serve with sauteed shredded red or green cabbage, optional (see suggestion below)

Directions:

• If pork tenderloin is in two parts, tie together with butchers string.
• Put the soy sauce, mustard, garlic, and ginger in a large ziploc plastic bag and shake to mix.
• Set the pork in the plastic bag and shake around to coat pork well.
• Place the pork in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours (overnight is fine), turning plastic bag over several times to make sure pork is marinated evenly.

To cook:

• Remove the pork from bag, letting marinade drip off; set pork in dish and evenly sprinkle with black pepper.
• Preheat grill or oven and cook until internal temperature of pork reaches 150 degrees.
• Remove and let rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing into thin slices to serve.

Serving Suggestion: For a side dish, saute shredded cabbage (cole slaw) in hot skillet until just tender.  Sprinkle a touch of soy sauce in skillet and stir into cabbage to season.

Recipe: Perfect Cranberry Glazed Pork Tenderloin

This makes a great holiday entree, or just a delicious fall-inspired dinner for family or friends (also makes great use of leftover cranberry sauce). Be sure to use naturally-raised pork - you don't want to be eating all the hormones and chemicals and crap that are fed to conventionally farmed pigs. Natural pork should be raised on pasture or wooded areas if possible, and allowed plenty of space to forage and range. You'll find the flavor far superior to conventional supermarket pork.

Pork is equally well suited to sweet fruit flavors, and savory herbs such as rosemary. In this delicious recipe, you don't have to choose! And the garlic and a touch of balsamic vinegar provide a unique and delicious depth of flavor to the sauce.

Perfect Cranberry Glazed Pork Tenderloin
(Serves 4.)

Cranberry Sauce (Photo credit: MGF/Lady Disdain)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a 9x13" baking pan.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; lay pork tenderloin on work surface and season pork with salt and pepper. When skillet comes up to heat, lay pork tenderloin in the skillet and brown lightly on all sides.
3. Remove the pork from the skillet and set in prepared pan.
4. Into the skillet, put the onion, reduce the heat, and cook until softened, then add the garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until garlic softens, being careful not to burn.
5. Pour into the skillet the chicken broth, cranberry sauce, rosemary, and vinegar, and cook for 2 or three minutes until hot.
6. Pour this sauce over the pork in the baking pan and bake, uncovered, until pork tenderloin is done, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Use a meat thermometer and make sure it registers 155 degrees.
7. Remove from oven and let the pork rest for 8 to 10 minutes at room temperature.
8. Slice and serve with sauce spooned over the top of each piece.