There are no exotic ingredients or fancy prep work required for this dish, just simple, satisfying flavors. The sweetness of the honey and vanilla are cut with the slightly acidic cider vinegar, though you could substitute any vinegar you like. Balsamic adds sweetness, rice vinegar would be wonderful and in a pinch, plain old white vinegar works, too. I add smoked paprika to a lot of dishes to give it a little oomph without adding heat. (Though if a little hot sauce found its way into the glaze, that would be lovely, too.)
This is not a dish that will change your life, but it will change your day. After all, not every dinner needs to be mind-blowing, but they should always be delicious.
Honey-Vanilla Pork Tenderloin 4 to 6 Servings
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. smoked paprika
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 ¾-lb. pork tenderloins
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a small glass bowl, whisk together the honey, vinegar, vanilla and smoked paprika. Microwave 20 seconds and whisk again to combine. Set aside.
• Season the tenderloins with salt and pepper to taste.
• In large, ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Sear the tenderloins about 2 minutes per side, then pour all but 2 tablespoons of the glaze over the meat, turning the tenderloins to coat. Bake 10 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reaches 155 degrees.
• Let the pork rest 5 minutes, then slice and serve drizzled with remaining glaze.
This article appears in February 2014.