Proper on cue in late March and early April, spring whets my urge for food for the intense, tart taste of rhubarb. When its acid-green and ruby pink stalks begin popping up in markets, I seize all I can discover, and churn out rhubarb pies and compotes to fulfill my candy tooth. However rhubarb’s tart taste can also be proper at residence in savory meals.

On this fast supper recipe developed by our Birmingham-based check kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh , we rejoice rhubarb’s savory facet by simmering it with candy orange marmalade and an array of aromatics to create a jammy sauce, and pair it with pork tenderloin for a satisfying seasonal meal. Elizabeth’s pan-roasted pork with rhubarb sauce is savory, candy, brilliant, and excellent for a spring supper. Plus, it takes solely half-hour to cook dinner, making it an awesome weeknight dinner possibility.

The Pan Sauce

Step one to make sure a wealthy, flavorful pan sauce for the pork is so as to add gelatin to the inventory or broth earlier than utilizing it. This method has been utilized in many Critical Eats pan sauce recipes, equivalent to culinary director emeritus Kenji’s pan-roasted rooster and pan sauce recipe. Whether or not you’re utilizing selfmade rooster stockor store-bought rooster broth, including just a few teaspoons of powdered gelatin to the liquid offers the combination a lift in richness to make sure a very nice, shiny sauce that may cling to each chew of the pork.

Cooking the Pork

Subsequent up: the pork. We right here at Critical Eats like to reverse sear bigger roasts like beef tenderloin (the place you begin by gently heating up a big lower of meat in a low-temperature oven till it is evenly cooked, then end by searing it over excessive warmth to provide it a browned crust); however for a lean, skinny tenderloin, the method is a nonstarter. As Kenji discovered when creating his pork tenderloin recipe, reverse-seared pork tenderloin inevitably dries out as a result of the lower is lean and comparatively small.

As a substitute, searing this lean pork roast firstly, then cooking it via within the pan, is the way in which to go. To additional promote browning on the outside of the meat, the seasoned pork tenderloin is dredged in cornstarch earlier than going into the skillet. The cornstarch additionally provides an awesome tough floor on the pork for the glaze-like sauce to cling to. Consider the cornstarch because the layer of primer you apply to a wall earlier than you paint it.

As soon as the pork is browned throughout and put aside, consideration is turned to the sauce. It begins with sautéing some minced shallot and garlic within the residual pork fats. Subsequent you will whisk within the rooster inventory and gelatin combination, together with some whole-grain mustard and orange marmalade. The marmalade brings sweetness and balances the tart rhubarb. However for those who’re not a fan of marmalade, you may substitute your most well-liked fruit preserves, equivalent to strawberry, cherry, or fig. 

At this level you might end the dish by cooking the pork via within the oven and decreasing the sauce individually within the skillet, however since we needed this pork to be glazed with the sauce, there is no have to cook dinner the meat in a manner that preserves a crisp exterior crust. As a substitute of utilizing the oven, Elizabeth discovered it a lot simpler to easily nestle the pork into the sauce and end cooking all of it collectively. The pork cooks throughout whereas the sauce thickens and also you additionally keep away from further soiled pans and turning on the oven. Simply ensure to show the pork each jiffy to make sure even cooking.

Bringing It All Collectively

Whereas the pork rests, rhubarb and butter are added to the sauce and simmered till the rhubarb is tender and the sauce turns into silky and jammy. While you add the pork again to the pan, you will see why that cornstarch was such a good suggestion. It actually helps the thick, flavor-packed sauce cling to the meat. Serve the pork alongside spring greens equivalent to peas or asparagus for a scrumptious seasonal meal.

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