Herb-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Dijon-Apricot Mop Sauce p. 330

This was very good but not as good as the previous two recipes. It has the potential to be just as good though. I used chicken instead of pork, and I should have flattened my pieces with a mallet. They were thick and uneven. Then I think it would have been excellent:) This is also a recipe you can grill. I plan to do that after the spring thaw here in Wisconsin!

In the cooking tips for this recipe, they stated that this is very good with chicken and flank steak. They also said that you can use the mop sauce alone without the herbs. So I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts. I used the herbs on 2 with the mop sauce and on the other 2 I used just the mop sauce. Both were very good. Ben liked the one without the herbs the best.

We had jasmine rice, asparagus and peas (using the rest of the fresh I had in fridge and leftover peas) and rolls with this meal. Very nice.

Recipe:

Herb Rub-
  1 T dry rosemary, crushed
  1 T dried thyme, crumbled
  1 T ground cumin
  2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  2 tsp celery seeds

Dijon-Apricot Mop Sauce-
  1 tsp olive oil
  1 small onion, finely chopped
  1/2 cup cider vinegar
  1/4 cup honey
  1/4 cup all-fruit apricot preserves
  2 T Dijon mustard
  1 tsp grated lemon zest
  1 T fresh lemon juice

2 1-lb pork tenderloins, all visible fat and silver skin discarded (or chicken, flank steak, or eye-of-round roast)


In small bowl, stir together the rub ingredients. Rub mixture evenly over the pork. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F or prepare grill for medium high. (lightly spray grill with vegetable oil spray)

If baking, line pan with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Baste with mop sauce.  Bake 10 minutes then mop again. Bake another 10-15 until done or 165 on meat thermometer.

If grilling, grill on each side for 10 minutes (40 minutes for tenderloin). Baste with mop sauce. Grill until done-about another 2-3 minutes on each side, until no longer pink or registers 165 on meat thermometer.


Mop Sauce prep: heat small saucepan over medium-high. Pour oil and swirl. Add onions and cook 2-3 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Before "mopping", you may want to set aside 1/2 for dipping sauce for the cooked pork)


Serves 8.