Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Pan Sauce
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Pork tenderloin browned in a skillet, then sliced over a quick cider and mustard pan sauce with tender onion and apple. A lean, high-protein dinner that still tastes rich.
- Total
- 45 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 25 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Pan sauce
Instructions
-
Pat the pork tenderloin dry with paper towels and season all over with the salt and black pepper. Peel the onion and cut it into thin slices. Core the apples and cut them into 1.5 cm wedges.
~8 min
Drying the surface lets it brown instead of steam, and seasoning now gives the salt time to season the meat through.
-
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the pork tenderloin and sear, turning with tongs, until browned on all sides, about 6 to 8 minutes.
~8 min
A hot, shimmering pan drives off surface moisture fast so the pork develops deep Maillard browning rather than turning grey.
Searing Get the oil shimmering and leave the pork undisturbed until it releases easily; crowding or a cool pan steams the meat instead of browning it.
-
Lower the heat to medium, cover the skillet and cook the pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 63°C, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Transfer the pork to a board and rest it.
~10 min
Resting lets the contracted muscle fibers relax so the juices redistribute instead of running out onto the board when sliced.
-
While step 3 rests
While the pork rests, add the onion to the same skillet and cook over medium heat until softened and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and cook until they begin to soften at the edges, about 4 minutes.
~5 min
Cooking the onion and apple in the pork's browned fat builds flavor into the sauce and softens them before the liquid goes in.
-
Pour in the cider and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the liquid reduces by about half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mustard and cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of the spoon, about 2 minutes.
~6 min
The cider dissolves the fond into the sauce, and reducing concentrates flavor while the cream thickens it to cling to the pork.
Pan sauce Scrape up every browned bit as the cider goes in, then reduce and finish with mustard and cream until the sauce coats a spoon.
-
Slice the rested pork into 1.5 cm medallions and add any resting juices to the pan. Spoon the apple and onion sauce over the pork and serve.
~4 min
Slice the pork against the grain and only after resting, so the juices stay in the meat rather than flooding the board.
