This delicious and festive Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Maple Balsamic Sauce is perfect for any holiday season gathering, whether a family meal or entertaining.
Today I am joining with other Canadian food bloggers in a week-long celebration of a beautiful new book by two fellow Canadian food bloggers. When I browsed the book and with the holiday season fast approaching, this festive pork dish seemed like the perfect recipe to share.
Not only is it full of festive flavours of cranberries and orange, it is delicious and cooks up in about 30 minutes. In a busy season, quick, easy and delicious meals are especially welcome.
Simply marinade your meat earlier in the day, then cook it up at meal time in about half an hour. Despite being quick and easy, this dish is also perfect for entertaining.
Cook’s Notes for Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Maple Balsamic Sauce
This is an easy, crowd-pleasing dish, that is both pretty and delicious, so it’s perfect for entertaining!
If you like, you could also make this with a centre-cut, boneless pork loin roast. Same method, just cook longer (to 140F. internal temperature).
Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Maple Balsamic Sauce
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- Juice and zest of one orange
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 pork tenderloins (3-4 lb. total)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Instructions
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Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Remove 1/2 cup of the marinade and set aside. Refrigerate remaining marinade.
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Prepare the pork tenderloins by removing any fat and the silverskin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a flat dish or ziploc bag. Combine the 1/2 cup of marinade with the 1/2 cup of red wine and pour over the pork. Cover and refrigerate ideally for 2-4 hours, turning occasionally. (*If you're rushed, marinade as long as you can, then cook).
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When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400° Using an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat on the stove top, heat the olive oil and the butter. When the butter is melted, add the pork tenderloins and sear on all sides until well browned.
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Transfer pork in skillet to pre-heated oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until meat reaches 155-160° internal temperature. Transfer pork to a cutting board and tent with foil.
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Place skillet on stove-top over medium heat and add the remaining refrigerated marinade to the skillet. Whisk well, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the cranberries to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until sauce is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes.
This sounds delicious and I bet the pork and cranberry works really nicely together.
Thanks! It is a perfect combination :)
I love the flavor of pork and cranberries together. This looks like the perfect holiday meal and so pretty!
Thanks so much, Karen and yes, it is perfect for a holiday meal and great for entertaining!
Goodness, this looks delicious! I’m excited to check out the other blogs sharing this beautiful book’s recipes… Your photos are gorgeous!
Thanks so much, Annie :)
Mmm I love that maple balsamic cranberry sauce! I always feel like when I’m cooking meat I’m always at risk of it being too bland. This sauce however I really have to try out! Also that book looks so cool!
Thanks Linda. We loved this dish. Great flavours for sure!
Gorgeous recipe Jennifer! I love this homey food especially at this time of year! Sounds like a great book.
Thanks so much, Toni :) And yes, a great book for anyone who loves to entertain!
It’s been a while since I made pork tenderloin.. love this recipe. And definitely can see myself making it for Christmas this year. Thanks.
It was delicious, Thalia and would be perfect for Christmas!
This looks like something I could serve to company at any time. I’m definitely trying this when my in-laws come for dinner. They’ll love this!
Definitely, Charmian. Easy and also company worthy!
Okay, this is going on the menu for my first low-key dinner party of the New Year! With mashed potatoes and something green, I think this would be a big hit!
It would be perfect, Robyn as it cooks up so easily once it’s marinated. I’ve adopted the low-key dinner party mindset, too :) No pressure, nothing too fussy and just enjoying the company!
Oh my. These photos are gorgeous!! Thanks so much for sharing, and for your kind words! And for the reminder that this is such a festive recipe… I need to go make it again! :)
Thanks so much, Julie. We loved this dish and I thought the flavours of citrus and cranberries were just so perfect for a holiday season dinner. Can’t wait to try more recipes from your book :)
What I love about a great cookbook is they spark the imagination and lead us to our own great ideas…. I will definitely be making this recipe – but with the myriad of pitted frozen sour cherries I have in my freezer from my tree this past fall. Your photo is mouthwatering – wiping the saliva off my screen as I write.
:)
Valerie
Thanks so much, Valerie. This would be lovely with sour cherries! (And wishing I had a tree ;)
Jennifer, this pork looks INSANELY amazing! And if the rest of the recipes in this book are as lovely, I know I’m going to need it :) Love the maple/balsamic/cranberry sauce. Bet it tasted so good!
Thanks Amy. It was delicious. And yes, the rest of the recipes are as lovely!
Stress-free gatherings? Where do I sign up? Especially if my dish will look half as good as yours! Pinned and salivating :)
Thanks Sarah. Loved this book and this dish! Lots of great tips and recipes.
Thank you SO much for taking the time to look through the book and to share your thoughts with your readers. Also, you made this dish look incredibly gorgeous, something I think is so hard to accomplish with pork tenderloin. I think I’m going to add this to my meal rotation very soon.
Thanks Jan and yes, pork tenderloin is notoriously hard to photograph and look good, isn’t it :) Loved this dish. It will be a regular here. Loved the flavours.
This look amazing! Pork tenderloin is my favorite. And this sauce. You know I’m a sucker for maple syrup and cranberries. Looking forward to checking out the book!
Thanks Liz and you’d love this one then. Perfect combination of flavours!
Thanks for participating in the virtual book tour and bringing this gorgeous dish to the table :) I had that one bookmarked too!
It was absolutely delicious, Mardi. And I loved how quickly it got to the table (always good :)