Boozy Applejack Brandy-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

 Given half a chance, 

I’d plunk a straw in this glaze and 

suck it up ~ 

just like a cocktail!

’Tis the season for piquant boozy apple-flavored fare…

This delicious glaze is a couple of recipes combined.  I had doubts about adding so much allspice but it complements the glaze perfectly, in fact, the allspice is what makes this recipe!

Apple cider has been around since about 55 B.C., when Romans conquered continental Europe and planted orchards in place of their native crab apples for hard cider production. 

The cider was once more popular than beer in the days of English settlers in America, because barley and other beer grains were trickier to cultivate in New England soil.  

Applejack is cider’s boozy cousin, and has been around as long as cider has.  The spiked drink was used as currency in colonial New Jersey and was made by freeze-distilling, and therefore concentrating hard apple cider.  It’s delicious!

Laird's Applejack and 1940's apple brandy bottles Photo credit:  Patti Sapone/Star-Ledger

                  

Dark, sticky molasses is not just for adding a sweet, almost smokey flavor; it packs serious nutrition, and is:   1)  a diabetes-friendly sweetener, 2) a bone booster, due to its calcium and magnesium content  3) a good source of iron for the blood, plus  4) it’s packed with potassium, and 5) it’s a hair de-frizzer!

The glaze really flavored up the mild-tasting lean meat!  It’s gourmet flavor that’s easy to prepare.

We really liked this spirited-up glazed pork!

 

Applejack Brandy-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1½ pounds pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, divided
1 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon molasses
½ cup Applejack Brandy
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°.

Place pork on a baking pan that is coated with cooking spray, sprinkle evenly with half of seasoned pepper.

In a saucepan, bring apple cider, molasses, brandy and brown sugar to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook a couple of minutes.

Stir in allspice, butter, cornstarch and remaining pepper; simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

With a brush, baste half of glaze over pork, bake for 10 minutes.

Brush remaining glaze over meat and continue baking until pork is medium, and reaches internal temperature of 160 degrees, about another 15 minutes.

Let stand 5 minutes.

Serve


Enjoy!

Glazed Pork Roast

Bill and I both love roasted pork and I’m always looking at new recipes for it. It is a great meat to have in the winter time when it is cold and snowing like it did all day yesterday and last evening.

But, there are so many variations of it and it is hard deciding how to prepare it but, this recipe with the glaze makes it wonderful!  The roast is so tender and succulent to the point that your knife has to do very little work. 

By marinating it for a couple of hours in the refrigerator, the sauce permeates the meat and the flavors come alive.  The sauce caramelizes, giving the meat a beautiful dark brown glaze and besides, it smells excellent while it is roasting!  It is an easy recipe, yet delicious and impressive. 

The pork roast has a juicy subtle taste, not sweet and the flavors come alive with this recipe!  It’s amazing, it is really very tasty!  I served it with chive mashed potatoes and broccoli with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan. 

Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:

3 pound pork roast

4 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons soy sauce (I used the lite, with less salt)

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons dry mustard

Pepper, to taste

Method:

Place roast fat side up in a roasting pan with a lid or wrap foil around it.

In a small bowl, blend remaining ingredients and brush the meat well with the sauce.

Cover it and bake at 350 degrees until done, about 2 to 2½ hours.

Baste with the sauce every 20 minutes adding more of the reserved sauce as needed.

The last 45 minutes, remove the lid and baste frequently for browning. 

Note:  I placed the pork and half of the sauce in a plastic bag and marinated the roast for a couple of hours in the refrigerator but, that is optional.  Then, when ready to roast, I poured the remaining sauce from the bag over the meat.

This is really excellent, very savory and tasty!

If you love roasted pork, give this a try!!

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!!