Crafty Cuisine Quartet- Cherry Glazed Pork
May 30, 2019
Sweet summer-time has arrived and so has our Cherry Glazed Pork! Our final dish contains a mix that even picky eaters couldn’t pass up- from the salty crunch of our sautéed green beans to the sweet slice of our homemade cherry glaze, fuel your appetite with our delicious dish. In preparing our meal, we began with pork tenderloins- pan seared and prepped for the oven. Next, we sautéed fresh green beans with just the right amount of spice. Finally, we hand-mashed golden potatoes- with a little butter, salt, and a whole lot of finger-licking-good.
Cherry Glazed Pork: Serves 6
Prep time- 45 min-1 hour
Ingredients:
Pork Tenderloin Prep:
- Place 2-3 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloins on a baking sheet
- Remove all fat by gently skimming a knife across the sides and surface of the pork
- After all fat is removed (or as much as desired), generously sprinkle salt and red pepper flakes on both sides of the pork
- When the tenderloins have been seasoned, place the meat in a skillet to pan sear on medium-high heat
- After all sides are a golden brown, prepare to transport the pork from skillet to oven
- Once the meat has been placed in the oven, allow the pork to cook at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature has reached 16o degrees internally
Green Bean Prep:
- Gently clean 2lbs of green beans by allowing cool water to wash the beans for 30 seconds
- After washing the green beans, remove the ends by slicing with a small kitchen knife
- Next, place the green beans in a zip-lock bag and add 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper
- After adding in the salt and pepper, simply seal the bag and give the beans a good shake for roughly 30 seconds
- Then, heat up the small skillet by turning the burner to medium-high heat
- Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to allow the beans to sautée
- Once the pan is heated, gently dump the beans into the skillet and occasionally stir until they begin to slightly brown
- Add 3 Tbsp of minced garlic
- If desired, additional salt/pepper can be added once the beans are in the pan
- Once the beans are a bit softer and seem to be turning a slight brown, this will indicate that the beans are ready!
Mashed Potato Prep:
- Begin by washing and peeling each potato from two 5 lbs bags of white potatoes
- After potatoes have been washed and peeled, dice each potato into medium sized pieces to allow for quicker cooking
- As the water comes to a boil, add 5 tbs of salt to allow for flavorful cooking
- When the potatoes have been diced, carefully place the potatoes into boiling water (high heat) and allow them to sit- occasionally stirring
- To test if the potatoes are ready, carefully select one potato dice with a cooking spoon and poke it with a fork to determine the softness
- If soft, the potatoes are ready to be mashed! If they’re still hard, allow them to boil for a few more minutes
- When the potatoes are finally soft, grab your strainer and be prepared!
- After placing the strainer in the sink, gently dump your softened potatoes into the strainer and allow for excess water to drain
- After rinsing the pot that contained the potatoes, place the potatoes back in the pot and mix in 1 cup butter, 2 cups milk, and 2 tbs of minced garlic
- Once all ingredients have been added, begin mashing potatoes as the ingredients begin to blend
- Once mashed, stir in all excess ingredients until desired consistency
Cherry Glaze Prep:
- Place 3 cups of pitted cherries, 6 Tbsp. of brown sugar, 3 Tbsp of soy sauce, 3 tsp. of cornstarch, and 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot over medium heat.
- Stir mixture together and bring to a boil.
- Once boiled, turn to simmer and give the cherries a gentle mash to let out the natural juices.
- Let simmer for 8 minutes and set aside.
- Once tenderloin is done and rested, plate and pour glaze over the tenderloin and serve.
Ratings:
- Mouthfeel/Consistency-10-the pork was tender and juicy while the cherries added an extra texture component
- Visual-10-it was so pretty we almost didn’t want to eat it but feel it belongs in a restaurant
- Creativity-9-overall creative but the sides could’ve been a little more diverse
- Smell-10-the smell from the cherry glaze was the icing on the cake for this dish
- Taste-10-the juices from the cherries bouncing off of the juices from the tenderloin was satisfying
