This fast and easy recipe for juicy Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Raisin Pan Sauce can be on the table in under 30 minutes. Serve this Asian inspired dish over some rice for a healthy and delicious dinner. It's a perfect weeknight meal!
This recipe is lightening fast and requires just one pan. Sear the tenderloin on all sides before tucking it into the oven for just over 10 minutes. While the meat rests, you can whip up a quick pan sauce that is sweet, spicy and downright tantalizing.
Pork tenderloin has become one of my absolute favorite cuts of meat in the last year or so. It is super inexpensive, packs a lot of flavor, can be used in a bunch of different applications and takes almost no time to cook. This particular preparation has become one of our favorites.
Table of Contents
What is a Pan Sauce?
A pan sauce is a simple sauce that is made from deglazing (read: using liquid to scrape up all the yummy brown bits) a pan after cooking. While it might sound complicated or like something you would read on a restaurant menu, I'm here to assure you that it's one of the simplest things you can make.
Anytime you cook pork, steak, chicken or even veggies, tofu or tempeh in the pan, you've likely left behind some caramel-y bits of goodness. Regardless of whether your recipes calls for it, you can opt to make a quick sauce from those bits by putting your pan over heat and adding liquid. In this recipe, we use kombucha and broth, but you can use wine, juice, beer, stock or water to achieve the same effect.
You can opt to start by sautéing some onions or shallots in the dry pan with a little salt first. The heat and salt will coax liquid from the aromatic alliums and begin the deglazing process. Just because we don't in this recipe doesn't preclude you from experimenting!
For a general primer on how to make a pan sauce - and to get some ideas on how you can riff to make your own recipes - check out this informative article.
How to Properly Roast Pork Tenderloin
One of my absolute favorite things about pork tenderloin is how quickly and easily it cooks. Preheat the oven to 350F. Next, pat the tenderloin dry and simply season the meat with a generous sprinkling of kosher salt (and whatever else you're feeling).
Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat with some oil and sear the tenderloin on all sides. The best way to do this is to set the tenderloin in and DON'T MOVE IT for 3-4 minutes so it can get nice and golden.
Once all the sides are golden, nestle the pork into the skillet and pop it in the preheated oven. Roast for 12-18 minutes (depending on the thickness of your cut), pulling out out of the oven when it hits 140F (it will continue cooking once removed). Remove the pork to a cutting board and tent it with foil to rest while you make the pan sauce. Note: Pork should hit 145F before slicing.
PRO TIP: Want to double your reward for the same amount of effort? Brown and cook two pork tenderloins instead of the one the recipe calls for. The extra pork can either go towards feeding an unexpected dinner guest, or, more likely in the midst of pandemic times, help you out later in the week. Add it to instant ramen for an easy upgrade or turn it into sandwiches.
How to Make Ginger Raisin Pan Sauce
Now that your roasted pork tenderloin is resting, it's time to deglaze the pan. First things first: be sure to cover that pan handle!! I don't know about you, but when a pan is on the stovetop I have a tendency to reach for it. I literally burned my palm while making this post. Just trust me and cover it as soon as it comes out of the oven so you don't make my mistake.
Next, take the ½ teaspoon of cornstarch and mix it together with the soy sauce in a small bowl. This is called a slurry. It is important to dissolve cornstarch in small bits of liquid before adding to the pan, or it'll end up clumping.
With the pan on the stovetop, set it over medium heat. Add the kombucha, stock, raisins, agave, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, scraping up any bits left on the bottom of the pan.
Tip in the slurry and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the sauce becomes noticeably thicker. Remove from heat and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Assembling the Dish
Once your roasted pork has rested (and hit 145F!), slice it into thin ½ inch medallions. Arrange 3-4 slices over a bed of rice, then drizzle with a few spoonfuls of the pan sauce. Be sure to get some of the raisins!
Finish the dish with a hefty sprinkling of sliced green onions and fresh cilantro leaves for a bit of freshness. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure thing! In fact, I like to roast an extra pork tenderloin every time I make it because it requires roughly the same amount of effort. You can store the pork tenderloin and pan sauce separately if you are worried about presentation (the sauce will "stain" the meat over time). Leftovers will last for up to a week in the fridge.
The first time I made this dish, I apologized to Joe because I was pretty sure we were going to have a LOT of leftovers. Boy, was I wrong! We polished off nearly an entire roasted tenderloin the night that I made it because it was that delicious. That said, this cut is extremely adaptable.
If you happen to be blessed with some leftovers (I actually recommend you roast an extra pork tenderloin for just this purpose), feel free to give them new life. Seriously, even the leftovers of this dish are delicious.
Here are just a few of my favorite ways to use up leftover pork:
-Make a yummy Hawaiian Pork Sandwich with grilled pineapple.
-Add some thin slices of pork (and a turmeric pickled egg!) to your instant ramen.
-Make a keto wrap using butter lettuce as your "tortilla" and add thin slices of pork, pickled red onions and some Persian green sauce.
-Make fried rice with cubes of leftover pork.
Growing up, pork was touted as "the other white meat." As a result, I was raised to believe that pork - like chicken - should never have any pink in the center. Turns out, that isn't the case. As long as your pork registers 145F on a meat thermometer, it is good from a food safety standpoint. Don't believe me? Check out this NPR article backing me up.
I personally pull my pork tenderloin from the oven when my meat thermometer hits 140F because I know that it will continue to cook as it rests. In an ideal world, you should aim to get as close to 145F without going over as this will yield the juiciest, most succulent meat possible.
While they might sound similar, these two cuts are actually quite different. Pork tenderloin is a cut that does well for cooking quickly, as in this recipe. Sear over high heat, roast for 10-12 minutes, rest and you're done. Pork loin, on the other hand, does better cooking low and slow for longer periods of time.
For more information on the differences between these two cuts, check out this informative article.
Really! While it might sound like a strange addition, pork and fruit go together like peas and carrots. The raisins get plumped up in the sauce and take on the spicy, sweet flavors. They also provide little bursts of sweet flavor while you chow down.
If raisins aren't your thing, I suggest swapping in another dried fruit that you like better. Apricots or apples are the first thing that come to my mind! Just be sure to cut them into raisin sized bits for the best results.
Need more dinner inspiration? Check out these other tasty picks:
- Instant Pot Beef Stew with Bacon
- Easy Broccoli Beef
- Mom's White Clam Chowder
- Easy Chicken Divan Casserole
If you made this recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Raisin Pan Sauce, please rate and review it below! I'd love to know how you liked it.
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Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Raisin Ginger Pan Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1.25-1.5 lb Pork Tenderloin silver skin removed
- Kosher Salt to taste - I used about three five finger pinches
Ginger Raisin Pan Sauce
- ½ teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 T Soy Sauce or sub tamari or coconut aminos
- ½ C Ginger Kombucha or sub turmeric or cayenne booch, or apple juice
- ½ C Chicken Stock or veggie stock
- ¼ C Raisins golden or regular
- 1 ½ t Agave or sub honey, maple syrup or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ - 1 tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes adjust according to your heat preference
To Assemble, Optional
- Cooked Rice or Cauliflower Rice
- Sliced Green Onions
- Cilantro
Instructions
Brown and Roast Pork
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Next, simply season the meat with a generous sprinkling of kosher salt.Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat with some oil and sear the tenderloin on all sides. The best way to do this is to set the tenderloin in and DON'T MOVE IT for 3-4 minutes so it can get nice and golden. Once all the sides are golden, nestle the pork into the skillet and pop it in the preheated oven. Roast for 12-18 minutes (depending on the thickness of your cut), pulling out out of the oven when it hits 140F (it will continue cooking once removed). Remove the pork to a cutting board and tent it with foil to rest while you make the pan sauce. Note: Pork should hit 145F before slicing.
Make Pan Sauce
- BE SURE NOT TO BURN YOUR HAND ON THE HANDLE OF THE PAN - IT’S VERY HOT!Take the cornstarch and mix it together with the soy sauce in a small bowl to make a slurry.With the pan on the stovetop, set it over medium heat. Add the kombucha, stock, raisins, agave, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, scraping up any bits left on the bottom of the pan. Tip in the slurry and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the sauce becomes noticeably thicker. Remove from heat and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Assemble and Plate
- Once your roasted pork has rested (and hit 145F!), slice it into thin ½ inch medallions. Arrange 3-4 slices over a bed of rice, then drizzle with a few spoonfuls of the pan sauce. Finish the dish with a hefty sprinkling of sliced green onions and fresh cilantro leaves for a bit of freshness. Enjoy!
Notes
- PRO TIP: Want to double your reward for the same amount of effort? Brown and cook two pork tenderloins instead of the one the recipe calls for. The extra pork can either go towards feeding an unexpected dinner guest, or, more likely in the midst of pandemic times, help you out later in the week. Add it to instant ramen for an easy upgrade or turn it into sandwiches.
- Nutrition facts do not include rice or toppings
Let's taco 'bout it.