Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Brandy Sage Mushroom Sauce
Never get around to using that side burner on your grill when your cooking outdoors? Ready to step up your grilling game a bit? How about a recipe that's completely different that throwing a chunk of meat on the grill? Ever want to “flambé” your food like the professionals? OK, I am making this way more dramatic than it really is, almost sounding like a infomercial on T.V., but the truth be told, this is a great recipe for the grill or side burner. Time to break out the skillet!
This recipe is adapted from a recipe from my friends over at Rouxbe.com, but more on them latter. The original recipe calls for Morel mushrooms, shallots and Calvados, way to expensive for a outdoor cook, so I made a few changes to fit the pantry and the budget. I changed the Morels to crimini mushrooms, shallots to white onion, Calvados to brandy and dark chicken stock to regular chicken stock to adapt to the recipe to my supplies.
This recipe requires a skillet or saute pan with a heavy base, a cast iron, stainless steel or as in my case a “Man Pan” is needed to sear the pork medallions properly. The secret to making the sauce is the “sucs” left in the bottom of the pan after searing the tenderloin, some people commonly refer to this as “fond”, but whatever you call those brown caramelized bits left in the bottom of your skillet, we need them to make good sauce.
One of the few photos I was able to capture (this recipe cooks fast), pork tenderloin medallions searing in the skillet. I used my Camp Chef Big Gas Grill to cook the Pork tenderloin.
“To cook the pork, season both sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a stainless-steel fry pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan has been properly heated, add the oil, followed by the pork.
Once you add the pork, turn the heat down to medium to medium-low. Use the flip often method to cook the pork, flipping after each minute. Continue to flip the pork until it is cooked to your liking, which should take about 5 to 7 minutes.
Note: it is okay if the pork is a tiny bit pink. The pink around the sides will continue to cook due to the carry over cooking. Once done, cover with vented foil and let rest while you prepare the sauce.” Rouxbe
Once the pork tenderloin medallions had seared nicely on both sides I added diced white onion to help loosen up the “sucs” from the bottom of the pan.
As the onions caramelized to a beautiful golden brown add your mushrooms to saute.
Here is were I ran out of time to take photo's – sorry.
Add your brandy to the pan (carefully – off the flame is best), return to flame and tilt your pan slightly to the flame. Do not lean over the pan at this point!
The brandy will ignite and the flames will reach upwards of two feet from the pan. Very exciting and show worthy, certainly. Let the flames die down on their own.
“To prepare the sauce, place the pan over medium-low heat. Check to see that there is enough oil in the pan. If not, add a touch more oil and then sauté the shallots until soft and golden.
Next, carefully deglaze with the calvados (Brandy) and flambé to burn off the alcohol.
SAFETY NOTE: when using spirits that have a high alcohol content, such as brandy, it should never be added directly from the bottle. The flame from the pan can enter the bottle and cause it to explode. And MAKE SURE TO STAND BACK before adding the alcohol. The flame can be quite high.
For safety reasons, the alcohol should be added away from the heat source or with the flame off. Then turn the heat to high and carefully tilt the pan a bit to ignite the alcohol. A gas lighter can also be used to do this.
Once the alcohol has burned off, reduce the Calvados by about half. Add the mushrooms and stir. Next, add the stock. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Let simmer and reduce the sauce by about half. Do not let it reduce down to a sauce-like consistency. This is because you will be adding cream, which will thicken the sauce considerably.
Once the stock has reduced, add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce this by about half. If you happen to over-reduce the cream and the sauce is too thick, simply add a touch more stock to bring it back to the right consistency.
Once you reach the desired consistency, add the Dijon and sage. Taste for seasoning.” Rouxbe
“To finish, add the pork back to the pan. Turn each piece to coat it in the sauce. Add any pan drippings to the pan and turn the pork one last time to ensure it is heated through and coated in the sauce. Then place the pork onto a plate and pour the sauce over top. Serve immediately. ” Rouxbe
It did take this time lapse video that I was playing around with that day. Perhaps it will give you an idea of how easy and fast this recipe really is! Pork tenderloin medallions on the grill
Short and sweet recipe post this time. I can't wait to throw in on my side burner again, it was such a delicious dish to prepare.
Here are the original ingredients from Rouxbe.com:
- 1 whole pork tenderloin
- 10 g dried morel mushrooms
- 1 shallot
- 6 fresh sage leaves
- 1 cup dark stock (chicken, veal or beef)
- 1/4 cup calvados
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- kosher salt (to taste)
- 2 tsp grapeseed oil (approx.)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
I'll introduce you to my new friends at Rouxbe.com next time.
