Bourbon Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Like a lot of things I make, I like to think that I have made them so many times that I have perfected them.

This pork is based off of Bourbon Glazed Salmon. I tweaked the recipe to have enough of the marinade to reserve some to use as a sauce. I also marinate the pork much longer than the salmon. Using the technique from another recipe, I tried cooking the pork in the marinade, vs. broiling it and the marinade has a more prounounced flavor. I also think the pork is jucier.  Pulling it from the oven at 155 degrees and letting it sit for 10 minutes before slicing also helps with that.

I also learned a small trick when using the reserved marinade. Since it does have bourbon in it and the alcohol can have that raw taste, bring it to a boil to take the edge off.

This pork is easy enough for a weeknight, but also tastes special enough to serve to company. You can do the bulk of the work before your guests arrive and then pop it in the oven to cook when the time is right.

Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup bourbon
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
4 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 - 2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag;  reserve about 1 cup of marinade. Refrigerate. Add pork tenderloins to zip top bag. Seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 2 -8 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Empty ziploc bag contents into a 11x3 baking dish, marinade and all, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 155 degrees. Let pork sit about 10 minutes before removing from baking dish and slicing.

Take reserved marinade and heat in a sauce pan until it starts to boil. Serve pork with a drizzle of sauce.

Pork Bulgogi

A friend was talking about Bulgogi and the next day, this came in my inbox from Everyday Food. Perfect timing! I have made something similar before so I knew we would like this.

I made a small error when making this. C does not like anything with too much spice. I don't know what I was thinking. Well, I do. I read the recipe before cooking and saw that the marinade was thrown out, so I thought no big deal, the crushed red pepper will be tossed out. WRONG! It stuck to the meat. I got most of it off, but after one bite the boys had a fit. We ended up rinsing C's off. H takes the heat better and ate it once the red pepper was off. I know for next time to cook their portion separate and to add the crushed red pepper to ours.

I doubled the recipe because I cannot remember ever buying a pork tenderloin that didn't wasn't at least two pounds.When I sliced the meat, it was partially frozen, and it sliced much easier. I sliced it very thin. I also did use the toasted sesame seeds and it really added a nice flavor to the dish. I served it over rice.

I am not a big leftovers person, but this was so good that Ray and I had it for leftovers.

Pork Bulgogi
Adapted from Everyday Food

6 small garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons ginger, freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound pork tenderloin, very thinly sliced crosswise
1 large onion, cut into 12 wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine garlic cloves, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, ginger, and ground pepper.



Add pork tenderloin and onion wedges; marinate at least 10 minutes. I marinated about an hour.


In a 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. In batches, brown pork and onion, 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Discard marinade.


Return all pork and onion to skillet; cook until warm. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, if desired.

One-Pan Whiskey-Flavored-Pork Chops

I first came across this recipe back in January of 2001. We really enjoyed it. But, I don't repeat a lot of things. I like to cook, obviously, and enjoy making new recipes. So this got buried. The next time we had it was in 2004, when my mom was staying with us to help out right after C was born. Sadly, I think we have had this once or twice since then!

I saw some nice boneless pork chops at the grocery store and just picked them up to have on hand and pop them in the freezer. Then I remembered this recipe. (My print-off is in a stack of tried-and-trues in a drawer in the kitchen that I went through a number of times over the holidays, so I most likely saw it then.) I got them back to the fridge to thaw out.

I didn't exactly have all the ingredients in the house. We didn't have any fresh mushrooms but I did have some dried porcinis that I used instead. That was fine, but the fresh does taste better and I would recommend using those. I used the soaking water in place of the water to help oomph the mushroom flavor. I also had probably half cup of sour cream so I used all that I had. The recipe does taste better with the full amount.

The boys enjoyed these, as do Ray and I. They don't take a lot of hands-on time, but you do have to plan a ahead because they take an hour to bake. Don't let the half cup of whiskey scare you. The alcohol burns off.

One-Pan Whiskey-Flavored Pork Chops

Cooking Light, January 2001

2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops, trimmed ( I use boneless most often)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup whiskey


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.


Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.


Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; saute 5 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove pork from pan. Add onion and mushrooms to pan; saute for 3 minutes. Carefully add whiskey to pan; cook for 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir sour cream mixture into pan. Return pork to pan; spoon sauce over pork.


Wrap handle of skillet with foil. Cover and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Pork

Everyone needs a few go-to recipes for a quick weeknight meal. This is one of those. It is tasty, easy and healthy! We all love it so much that I try to keep ground pork in the freezer so we can whip this up when we need a quick dinner. The rest of the ingredients we have in the pantry. This recipe doubles very easily and reheats well.

In the winter,we use frozen green beans, and during the summer months, we use fresh. Both are just as good.

Ray and I like the heat of the crushed red pepper, but the boys do not. We usually take out their servings then add in the pepper. We also added a little ground cayenne as well and that added a nice layer of heat.

Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Pork

Adapted from: Cooking Light 4-06


1/2 pound lean ground pork
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon peanut oil
12- 16 oz cut green beans, steamed
2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic (generous)
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce (generous)
2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce




Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and next 3 ingredients; cook 3 minutes or until pork loses its pink color, stirring to crumble.


Add green beans to pan.


Add garlic, hoisin and next 3 ingredients to pan. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Serve over rice.