I don’t know where you are, but it’s fall in Brooklyn. It’s gloriously pleasant to be outside and my weekends are finally being spent at home, watching football (who have I become??) and putzing in the kitchen.
As much as I love summer, nothing makes me feel as settled and grounded as fall.
These in-betweenish few weeks are the perfect transition from fresh produce only into full blown soup season. I’ve got plans for a split pea soup and baked ziti in the next week or so, but I’m still making my last batches of pesto and corn-studded focaccia, too. Basically, what we’re dealing with now is the best of both worlds and I intend gorge myself on all of it.
As I teased in that now long-ago focaccia post, earlier in the summer, Mack came up with a beautiful marinade/glaze for pork tenderloin. Not usually my preferred cut, but this glaze changes that.
No matter my good intentions and careful packing, we’ve ended up with bashed berries, flailing flowers and savaged stone fruit upon returning home on Saturday market mornings. Borne out of these mishaps, this is a great way to use the uber ripe summer produce that’s still appearing on the market tables.
It’s as simple as blitzing pitted peaches in a blender (and right about here is where you may want to reserve some puree for a homemade bellini) along with some other seasonings, marinating for however long you please, and throwing it on the grill . That’s when you enjoy a glass of wine (red, white, or rose – the choice is yours because guess what, they all make sense right now!) and glaze that pork tenderloin to perfection. Which is to say neither underdone, nor dry and tough.
This weekend, no need to covertly fight over the perfect peaches while elbow-to-elbow at some of the last green markets of the year. Grab the juiciest, and therefore most fragile, peaches you can find and hurry them home to keep those cookout vibes going well into fall.
Peach-Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Yields: Enough marinade for three 16 oz pork tenderloins – one 16 oz tenderloin serves two
Ingredients:
1 16 oz. pork tenderloin (or up to three)
Three ripe peaches, pitted and roughly chopped
1 small shallot, roughly sliced
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1⁄4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Generous pinches of kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. First! If you do want to save some puree for bellinis, add your chopped peaches to a blender and give it a good whir – use the puree setting. If you aren’t as laser focused on brunch beverages as I am, add the garlic and shallot first, and give them a go round to chop them more finely.
2. Add the rest of your ingredients in all at once, minus the pork, and puree until smooth.
3. Place your pork and a third of the marinade in a bowl, turn the pork to coat it, and let marinade for at least half an hour or up to 24 hours.
4. When ready to cook, prepare your grill for medium high heat. (For a charcoal grill, fill a charcoal chimney about half way and make sure to dump them on one side rather than all over. For a gas grill…turn the knob to medium high.)
5. Remove the pork tenderloin from the marinade and give it a good, even sprinkling of kosher salt and pepper, on all sides. Save the bowl of marinade as it has now become your glaze.
6. Grill! Over direct heat, cook the pork tenderloin. Once the bottom has some color and a crust, turn it. Glaze the now cooked top. Continue turning and glazing every few minutes until it reaches 145 degrees internally. You’ll likely turn it about 6 times. Make sure to get the sides and the ends as well.
7. Once finished, let rest at least ten minutes before cutting into it.
A Pinch of This 