Sometimes you are trying to make something and end up with a masterpiece. This was the case here. During one of my forty-five monthly visits to my favorite food warehouse, I saw a beautiful pork tenderloin. I had no clue how to cook this thing but I figured it was somewhere on the internet. I know from the countless of pork cuts I've ruined before in the oven that this meat can be dryer than the Sahara if not treated correctly. Hence, I pulled out my Instant Pot. I frigging love that things. Like, if I ever had a second dog I would name him IP (pronounced eye-pee). Nothing made in the Instant Pot ever came our short of wonderful.
I figured out how long to cook it for and searched for inspiration on what to marry with this and apparently everyone likes pork with herbs or gravy. I mean, herbs are great and all but it can get pretty boring. Literally, all you'd have to do is toss green-ish things in there. Also, can we talk about American's obsession with gravy? Sheesh, soon enough there will be a Gravy Protein Shake recipe. Calm down, I'm not dissin' on the graves (I love me some country style gravy). I opted to turn this into a sweet and tangy pork tenderloin. Marrying the sweetness of honey, with the tartness of balsamic vinegar, and the sharpness of mustard (like a slap in the face but in a good way), this pork tenderloin is sure to amaze anyone and it is super easy to make. I hope you have some leftovers (because I didn't).
Ingredients:
1lb. (16 oz.) fresh pork tenderloin (not frozen)
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp ground sage
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3/4 C (80 mL) water
2 Tbsp (21 g) honey
2 Tbsp (30 g) Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp (15 mL) balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp (10 g) cornstarch
Directions:
Combine garlic paste, thyme, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper and rub mixture over the pork loin.
Pour water in the bottom of the Instant Pot, set the trivet, and place the pork loin on top of the trivet.
Press the MEAT setting or MANUAL for 20 minutes at high pressure. Once done, allow natural release.
Once pressure has gone down, open the Instant Pot and remove pork tenderloin and trivet. Let pork rest.
Strain the liquid and save in a container, discarding the solids. Press the SAUTE setting, return liquid, and add honey, mustard, and balsamic vinegar.
Once it comes to a simmer, slowly add cornstarch whisking continuously to avoid clumping. Once you get the desired consistency, turn it off and save until ready to serve. To serve, slice pork tenderloin and drizzle sauce on top.
Macros per Serving (4): 12 g of carbs | 3 g of fats | 24 g of protein
NOTE: macros are based on the ingredients I used which may vary from actual ingredients used in the making of this recipe.
