Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Sauce

This is the perfect entrée for a spring dinner party or celebration. We served the pork over cheese grits with roasted asparagus, and it was the perfect pairing! But all we can really say is…

THIS SAUCE 💫🥃🥓🧅🥕🔥💫 The idea of making a sauce might feel a bit intimidating but we promise it’s quite simple, and you can make it days in advance. Check out our stories for a visual tutorial of how it comes together and don’t be afraid of the 🔥

Adapted from Frank Stitt
Serves 6

For the pork:
2 lbs pork tenderloin (normally two smaller ones) - we always ask the butcher to remove all fat and silver skin for us
Salt
2 shallots, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Salt the pork tenderloins. Put them in a large ziplock with remaining ingredients and marinate minimum 4 hours, ideally 24 hours.

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 slice of bacon, minced
1 small onion roughly chopped
1 large carrot peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic smashed
1 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 cup of bourbon
4 cups chicken broth
3 thyme sprigs
3 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf (fresh if you have it)

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium high heat. Add bacon, onion, carrots, garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and honey and stir. Add the bourbon and then, using a long match, ignite. Warning: there will be a tall flame that will take about a minute to go out but as soon as the alcohol cooks off, I promise it will be gone! Let simmer until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 of the original amount. Add the chicken broth and herbs and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn to simmer and let the sauce reduce by half. This will take about an hour. Strain sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove all solids.

Set grill to medium high heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes depending on thickness. Once internal temperature is between 140°F and 145°F take off grill, tent with foil and rest for 10 minutes. Reheat sauce over low heat. Slice, smother, enjoy 💫