JOIN! 12 Weeks for $1

Caramelized Pork with Orange and Sage

6 Servings

25 minutes

Made This Recipe? Write a Review.
Thank you for submitting your review! A member of our team is confirming the review meets our site's Community Guidelines. It will be posted on the site shortly.

Looking for a way to add flavor to all-too-often utilitarian pork tenderloin, we drew inspiration from Francis Mallmann, the Argentine chef best known for pushing the limits of browning—using live fire to cook vegetables, meat and fruit until they're almost burnt. Mallmann tops pork tenderloin with brown sugar, thyme and a fruity orange confit tinged by bay leaves and black peppercorns. The flavorful coating is seared onto the surface in a cast-iron griddle until the orange and thyme are crispy and charred. We loved the flavors, but the technique wasn’t home cook friendly. To simplify and preserve the flavors, we started by streamlining the orange confit: Orange zest and fresh sage, coarsely chopped, gave a similar texture and fragrance. Gently pounding the tenderloin ensured a flat surface for a sugar mixture to adhere. Instead of searing the pork, we opted to broil it, making it easier to maintain the topping. Brown sugar became a sticky mess under the broiler, so we used coarse turbinado sugar, which kept its shape and crunch. If the sugar gets too dark before the meat comes to temperature, turn off the oven; the pork will finish cooking in the residual heat.

6

Servings

Tip

Don't tent the pork with foil after removing it from the oven. It will lose its candy-like crust. For the same reason, don't spoon the sauce over it. Instead, serve the pork set over pools of sauce on individual plates.

25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2

    pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 6 pieces

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Pardon the interruption

You need to be a Milk Street Digital Member to see the full recipe

JOIN MILK STREET DIGITAL & PRINT
12 WEEKS FOR JUST $1

and get access to all of our recipes and articles online, as well as in print.

GET DIGITAL & PRINT
How we use your email.

Your email address is required to identify your subscription. We will use it for customer service as well as other communications from Milk Street. We will not share, or rent your email address.

Reviews
Scott M.
April 15, 2024
Fabulous
Crunchy orange topping was perfection.
Deborah B.
January 7, 2024
New dinner party favorite
This was delicious! Went a little light on the sugar, and heavier on orange peel/zest and sage but not at all sweet. Served with israeli couscous and sheet pan roasted veg + feta which complemented nicely.
Julie L.

This was amazing and quick enough for a weeknight!! My family's new favorite way to eat pork.

Heather G.

Thank you for your comment! Your comment is currently under moderation and will appear shortly.

Cynthia F.

Looking forward to trying this. What did people serve with this?

Marcy W.

Thank you for your comment! Your comment is currently under moderation and will appear shortly.

Daniel M.

The crunch was amazing, recipe was easy, but the degree of sweetness of the topping was overwhelming- unanimous vote in my family. I was born in Argentina, but I never tried something like this. We prefer savory meat dishes, so I don't think I'll make this again. Don't mean to be a downer, cause we otherwise love Milk Street!

Alan A.

We had an off week at our supermarket, and found ourselves unable to get tenderloin. So we tried pork loin. The recipe worked well, disguising the less tasty and drier pork loin.