Gluten Free, Soy Free, Diary Free Dinner Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with a Tart Cherry Sauce

It’s cherry season! The last few weeks I’ve been eyeing the tart cherries at the farmers market.  After eating about 2 pounds of sweet cherries after a 4th of July trip to Traverse City, MI. I decided it was time for me to try tart cherries – they taste like crap uncooked.  Time to create some recipes!  My first, a sweet and savory Pork Tenderloin with a Tart Cherry Sauce. This turned out AMAZING! In fact, my husband and I liked it so much that I’ve decided to can some tart cherry jam and freeze some tart cherries to we can make it later on in the year. It would be a great gluten free, soy free, dairy free fall dinner!

Here’s how you make it…

Pork Tenderloin with a Tart Cherry Sauce

1-1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin

Homemade “Everything Seasoning”  (if you haven’t made it and plan on trying out a lot of my recipes I would make it! I use it on EVERYTHING!)

1 Tbsp high heat oil

1 large chopped onion

1/2 cup gluten free chicken broth (I make my own, you can too – I’ll post the easiest way later)

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Cups pitted tart cherries (want an easy way to pit them without a gadget – see my post here)

1 Cup tart cherry preserves*

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 T water

*I actually didn’t have my preserves canned yet when I made this so I cooked down 1 cup tart cherries and 3/4 cup sugar while I was prepping everything

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Heat oil in a pan at medium/high heat.  Season tenderloin with “Everything” rub.  Sear tenderloin on all sides, I would sear for about 2 minutes per side. Add onions to pan.  Once the tenderloin is nicely browned on each side, transfer to a glass baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for about 18 minutes (or until a thermometer reads the temp you desire – according the the USDA 160 degrees for medium, 170 degrees for well done). Continue to cook onions until they’re translucent (if they’re not already)

Add chicken broth to the pan with the onions that you seared the pork in. Stir, scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add tart cherries and balsamic vinegar.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and then simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add tart cherry preserves.  Mix 1 Tbsp of water with 1 Tbsp of cornstarch, whisk into the sauce.  Let the sauce simmer/thicken for about 2 minutes.

Take out the pork and let it rest about 10 minutes before slicing.  Slice, top with tart cherry sauce, and enjoy!