CT 017| Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Brandied Cherries and Basil Reduction Sauce

As Spring transitions into Summer, stone fruits start to ripen and make an appearance at local markets. Since stone fruits and pork have an affinity with one-another, it seemed only natural when I went to cook dinner the other night and saw my favorite stone fruit from a local California farm; cherries! I grabbed a pork tenderloin, some fresh basil, a bottle of brandy and was ready to cook.

The great thing about this dish is it's extremely simple, requires few ingredients, but is absolutely delicious. Although I use cherries in this video, you can easily them with your favorite stone fruits such as plums, peaches, and apricots, all of which will play nicely with the basil and brandy.

Ingredients (Serves about 4-6 People)

• 2 Pork Tenderloins, Excess Fat and Silver Skin Removed
• Kosher Salt, As Needed
• Black Pepper, Freshly Ground, Add To Taste
• 1/2 Tbs Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Brandy
• 2 Cups Cherries, Stems and Pits Removed
• 1/2 Yellow Onion, Diced
• 2 Cups Roasted Chicken Stock
• 15-20 Fresh Basil Leafs, Half Chiffonade, Half Chopped
• 1/4 Cup Cooking Oil of Choice (I use peanut oil in this video)
• 1 Tbl Cold Water whisked together with 1/4 tsp of corn starch
• 1 Pat Butter
• 1 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar (or other acid to taste)

1. Season pork tenderloins liberally on both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Place seasoned pork tenderloins in a gallon sized Zip-Loc bag, add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 3/4 cups brandy. Place Zip-Loc bag in a bowl of cold water, using it to press out all the air in the bag, before sealing the top. This will ensure that the brandy marinade is in constant contact with the pork tenderloins.
3. Marinade tenderloins for at least one hour, but no more than three. If the meat is in contact with brandy for too long, the alcohol with give the pork a "cooked" texture.
4. Remove tenderloins from marinade and pat dry on paper towels. Reserve brandy marinade and mix with 1/2 cup cold water.
5. Sear pork tenderloins in a pan over high heat, using cooking oil of choice (peanut, canola, vegetable oil, etc).
6. When both sides of the tenderloins are a dark golden brown, remove from pan and allow to rest on a plate.
7. Immediately add 1/2 yellow onion (diced) to the same pan used for searing the pork tenderloins, scraping the fond on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to release. If the fond doesn't easily release, add a 1/4 cup of warm water and scrape the bottom of the pan vigorously as it evaporates.
8. Remove pan from flame, add brandy marinade and water mixture, and return pan back to high heat (which will cause the brandy in the pan to ignite).
9. As soon as the flame from the brandy burns out, add 2 cups pitted cherries and reduce mixture over high flame until the moisture is almost gone.
10. Add two cups roasted chicken stock, bring to a simmer, and add corn starch slurry.
11. Place pork tenderloins back into pan, and simmer in the sauce over medium heat until mid rare (internal temp of 130-140ºF/55-60ºC).
12. Remove pork tenderloins from the pan and set aside. Turn off flame, add chopped basil, 1 pat of butter, and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Stir with a spoon until thoroughly combined.
13. Spoon brandied cherry sauce onto a plate, slice pork tenderloin, and serve on top of sauce.