Two for the Grill

Balsamic Honey Tenderloin

How does a barbecue meal come together at your house? Around here, it takes two. I do the prep in the kitchen and my husband handles the grilling. It works well for us except that over the years we’ve become so used to our roles that neither of us is really comfortable with switching over (plus I am not a big fan of fire of any kind, so our system is okay with me.)

Last weekend we two had a lovely meal out on the deck. We enjoyed balsamic honey tenderloin, potato and onion packets and coleslaw. The tenderloin recipe came from Canadian Living/The Barbecue Collection: a really big cookbook full of recipes you’ll want to try. The recipe said we’d have a delicious crust on the meat, but that didn’t happen. However, it was so tasty and so melt-in-your-mouth good that we didn’t miss the crust. The leftover pork was equally good the next day. The potato and onion packets are something we’ve been making for years (and you probably have your own version of it, too) so I thought it was a good idea to write it down somewhere. For convenience, I used bagged coleslaw and tossed it with bottled coleslaw dressing and a few little extras to make it my own (think celery seeds, caraway seeds, a teaspoon of sugar and maybe some extra mayo).

MA’s Balsamic Honey Tenderloin

from Canadian Living/The Barbecue Collection Cookbook

Pork skinned and marinade mixed

2 pork tenderloins, about 12 oz each

2 tbsp liquid honey

2 tbsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Remove any silverskin (connective tissue) from the pork.

Mix together honey, mustard, vinegar, oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Brush with marinade and turn occasionally

Put the pork in a non-metal dish and pour marinade over it. Turn the meat to coat. Marinate for 20 minutes or, refrigerated, for up to 1 day. (We marinated ours for about 8 hours.)

Remove pork from marinade, reserving the marinade to brush on as a glaze as the meat grills.

Place pork on greased grill over medium-high heat. Brush with marinade. Grill, covered, turning occasionally, until just a hint of pink remains in centre (about 160º F), about 18 minutes.

Sliced and ready to enjoy

Transfer meat to cutting board; tent with foil and let rest for about five minutes before slicing.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Balsamic Honey Tenderloin

 

MA’s Grilled Potato and Onion Packets

Potato and onion with seasonings

3 Russet potatoes, sliced thinly - almost, but not quite through, to the bottom of the potato

1 white onion, thinly sliced

olive oil

sea salt or seasoning salt (I used a roasted garlic and sea salt seasoning)

pepper (I used freshly ground red, white and black pepper)

Cut heavy-duty aluminum foil or two layers of regular foil into 3 - 12” squares (or larger pieces if needed to accommodate the potatoes).

The packet

On each piece of foil, place a sliced potato. Put slices of onion between each slice of potato. Spray or drizzle a little olive oil over the potato and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with other two potatoes and remainder of onion slices.

Wrap foil around the potato and onion to make a packet.

Place the packets on the grill over medium high heat. Cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, turning once or twice as they cook.

Grilled to perfection!

Remove packets from grill and open carefully. After all, it is a hot potato in there. Turn out into serving dish. Hungrier folk may wish to have a whole packet to themselves and that’s okay, too.

Printable Recipe for MA's Potato and Onion Packets

Pork Medallions in Mustard Sauce

Tender pork medallions in rich mustard sauce garnished with fresh green grapes

I’ve been working on a post about the best oatmeal cookie recipe and was hoping to have it ready to go this week. It’s turning out to be a history lesson for me as I am finding out that recipes can evolve over many decades. Meanwhile, here is a fully evolved recipe for a main dish that has drawn rave reviews at my table for, well, decades. It’s dedicated to the family and friends I’ve shared it with over the years.

This recipe originated in a special Christmas edition of Canadian Living magazine from 1985. (I think Canadian Living is still one of the best magazines out there and I especially like their recipes.) I’ve made minimal changes to this recipe. 

You will have to fuss a bit to make the pork medallions. However, you can prepare the dish a day ahead and do the final cooking the next day. Stick with the Dijon, as regular mustard doesn’t deliver the same subtle flavour. And, don’t forget the green grapes. They are just so good with the rich, creamy mustard sauce. Serve this with brown rice and steamed green beans, and get ready for the compliments.

MA’s Pork Medallions in Mustard Sauce

Preheat oven to 350º F.

For the meat:
2.5 lbs pork tenderloin
¼ cup flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce: 

¼ cup butter
1 clove garlic, halved
¼ cup flour
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 cup milk (I use skim)
½ cup dry white wine
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried basil
½ cup light cream

For the garnish:
1 ½ cups seedless green grapes, washed and dried 

Making the medallions

Cut pork tenderloin into ¾” thick slices. 

Using a mallet or the edge of a heavy bottle, pound each piece of pork to flatten it slightly.

Combine flour, salt and pepper; dredge pork in flour mixture.

In large frying pan, heat butter and oil over medium heat.

Saute until golden

Sauté pork for about 5 minutes each side or until golden on both sides. Do this in batches so that the meat is not crowded while it sautés.

In a shallow baking dish, arrange pork in a single layer. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Whisk together sauce ingredients

In a saucepan, melt butter.

Cook garlic in butter for 2 minutes, and then remove garlic from pan.

Stir in flour to make a smooth paste.

Add mustard and stir with love until the mixture bubbles.

Whisk in milk, wine, salt and basil. Cook stirring constantly for about 1 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and has thickened.

Remove from heat and whisk in the cream.

Pour sauce over pork.

(The recipe can be prepared ahead up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Add about 15 minutes baking time when you reheat it.)

Cover the baking dish with a lid or foil and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until pork is tender.

Transfer pork and sauce to a warm serving platter.

Garnish with green grapes and serve.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

Printable Recipe for MA's Pork Medallions with Mustard Sauce

Easy Pork Tenderloin and Cabbage

Don't forget the apple sauce.

If you are looking for an easy to make main dish, you are in the right place. A little mustard, some dried herbs and your pork tenderloin is ready in less than an hour. While it's cooking, make some apple braised cabbage to go with it.

If you are lucky enough to have any leftover pork, build yourself some pork sandwiches. Try one with jalapeno cheese, mustard mayonnaise and crunchy romaine on some nice grainy bread. Or get out your grill pan and create a pork, apple slice and Swiss cheese panini. But first, you'll have to cook the tenderloin. And here's how.

MA’s Herbed Dijon Pork Tenderloin

Preheat oven to 350° F.

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried rosemary

½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp peppercorns, crushed

1 lb pork tenderloin

In a bowl, mix together mustard, rosemary, thyme and peppercorns.

Ready for the oven

Spread mustard mixture over pork.

Put pork in roasting pan.

Bake about 35 to 45 minutes or until the pork is no longer pink inside. For best results, use a meat thermometer and cook pork until it registers as well done.

Cut into thin slices to serve.

Makes 3 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Herbed Dijon Pork Tenderloin

MA’s Apple Braised Cabbage

 ½ medium cabbage, green or red
1 cooking apple

1/3 cup water

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp honey

salt and pepper

Cored and sliced

Remove outer leaves and core from cabbage. Slice thinly.

Peel, core and slice apple.

In a large frying pan that has a lid, combine cabbage, apple, water and vinegar. Stir and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

Stir in honey and salt and pepper.

Cabbage-y goodness

Makes 4 servings.

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