Last fall L. was trying to find a tea that he might like. He did not, and I ended up with the remainders of several scented tea samplers, which I was certainly not going to drink. I like my tea plain and anything entitled "vanilla, chamomile and honey tea" makes my nose curl. I recently came across a recipe for tea brined pork, which made me rethink the pantry space occupied by the unused tea bags so I adapted the inspiration recipe to my needs and and it is definitely worth making -- very little effort for a lot of flavor!
Use whatever flavored tea that you like; the pork and the cooking method will mellow it into a delicious background flavor that no one will be able to identify. As illustrated above, I served the tenderloin medallions with pan roasted rounds of butternut squash, cooked in the same pan as the pork, and a salad lightly dressed with a grain mustard dressing. The leaves wilted slightly from the heat from the pork and squash, and the dressing both cut through the sweetness of the butternut squash and echoed the mustard in the pork's spice crust. Yummy.
2 lbs pork tenderloin (about 2 tenderloins) cut into 1 inch medallions
3 tea bags flavored tea
1 orange
1/4 cup Kosher salt
2 Tbsps maple syrup
1 Tbsp mustard powder
1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
Boil 1 cup of water.
Place the tea, salt and maple syrup in a bowl deep enough to fit the tenderloin medallions comfortably while they marinate.
As soon as the water boils, add it to the mixture in the bowl. Stir well to dissolve the salt and the syrup and set aside for5 minutes so that the tea can steep.
With a vegetable peeler, peel strips of orange peel from the entire orange and add them to the mix. Squeeze in the juice from the orange.
Place the tenderloins in the bowl and add just enough ice water to make sure that the meat is covered. Cover with cling film and marinate for 12 hours or overnight.
When ready to cook, remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Remove from the brine and pat each tenderloin dry.
Measure the mustard powder and pepper onto a plate and mix together. Roll each tenderloin gently in the spice mix -- you want a very light coating of spice on all sides.
Heat the oil in a skillet until shimmering and, over medium heat, cook the meat for 3 minutes on each side.
Remove from the pan to a plate and cover with foil. Let rest for an additional 3 minutes before serving.
Inspiration recipe, here.
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