Chipotle Marinaded Pork Tenderloin

For this weekend's big meal, post Chicago St. Pat's Day celebrations, my studly boyfriend had a pork tenderloin frozen and decided to thaw it out so we could make it. He put me to the task of being creative and coming up with a good Sunday dinner. Not like I needed to be pushed. After a little research, I came up with this awesome chipotle marinaded pork tenderloin. I always do a little research for inspiration before I cook, but don't usually follow a recipe. Whether or not you eat meat, you should try this sauce and put it on whatever. It was so good. I also made a White Bean and Butternut Squash soup to go with our dinner, so stay tuned for that recipe coming up!

Chipotle Honey Marinade/ Sauce

3 Adobo Marinaded Chipotles (cans can be found in Mexican section of grocery store)

1 shallot (rough chop)

3 cloves garlic (halved)

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1/2 lime (juice and zest)

Lots of Olive Oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Toss all ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor. Blend the ingredients, streaming in the olive oil as it mixes. Add enough oil until the mixture looks nice and smooth.

You will use some of the sauce to marinade the pork, and some to use as a sauce for serving. To prepare the meat, first run the meat under water to wash off any excess liquids. Then pat dry with a towel.

Dry Rub

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Paprika

Cumin

Crushed red pepper

Rub the spices all over the meat to coat. You don't need too much as you're going to marinade the meat in the chipotle sauce. Add a few spoonfuls of the marinade to a large freezer bag. I also add a couple of bay leaves to the mixture to give it a little more flavor. Add the pork to the bag with the marinade and move the meat around to coat all sides. Let the meat marinade in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.

After 4 hours, take the meat out about 20 minutes before you are ready to cook it. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. You want the meat to come down to room temperature before cooking. While the meat is resting, heat a grill pan on the stove top over high heat (If you don't have a grill pan you could just use a large saute pan). Add a little olive oil to the grill pan and toss the pork on! Cook the pork on each side for 5 minutes.

Once both sides have cooked, transfer meat to a baking pan and put it into the oven at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes. Now, I don't have any clue what the internal temperature should be. I just know what it should feel like when I poke it with my finger. It should be nice and soft, but not so soft that it feels like jello. Let the pork rest on your cutting board for about 10 minutes. Slice up and serve with some of the remaining (microwaved) chipotle sauce.

I also made some steamed broccoli with the meal. After I steamed it I threw it into a saute pan with some oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Gives it a little extra flavor and texture. Give it a try!

I have TONS of left overs, so I'm working on another recipe with the lefover pork.... I'm thinking goat cheese.....