Bigly Honey Garlic Pork
Prep
10m
Cook
20m
Total
30m
Bigly says
Pay attention. This is the weeknight recipe that has SAVED more dinners than I can count, and I have counted, I've kept a running tally on the back of an envelope and the number is staggering, the number is through the roof. Honey garlic pork tenderloin. Twenty-five minutes from cold tenderloin to dinner plate. Glossy. Sticky. Sweet with a snap of garlic and a whisper of soy and a streak of vinegar that pulls the whole thing back from being too sweet — and that's the trick, that is the entire trick, write it down.
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you cooked a pork tenderloin? If your answer is 'never' you are missing out on the FASTEST cut of pork on the market. It cooks in under twenty minutes. It costs less than chicken breast at most stores. It slices into perfect medallions. It absorbs a glaze like a sponge made of fancy meat. The food media won't say it, but tenderloin is the best lean protein in the meat case, hands down, and it gets passed over for chicken every single night, which is a tragedy on a scale I cannot fully describe.
The sauce — and the sauce is the headline here, the sauce is the whole point — is honey, garlic, soy, vinegar, a pinch of red pepper, and a knob of butter mounted in at the end to make it glossy. It reduces to a SYRUP in about three minutes, you spoon it over the sliced pork, and your kitchen smells like every Asian-American steakhouse you've ever loved. Serve it over rice. Serve it over noodles. Serve it on a plate by itself and eat it with your hands if no one is watching. I'm not your boss.
Ingredients
- 2 (about 1 lb each)pork tenderloins(silver skin trimmed off — peel it back like tape)
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 2 tbspneutral oil
- 8 clovesgarlic, finely minced(yes, eight, not a typo, do not negotiate with me)
- 1/3 cuphoney
- 3 tbspsoy sauce
- 2 tbsprice vinegar
- 1 tspdijon mustard
- 1/4 tspred pepper flakes
- 1/2 cuplow-sodium chicken stock
- 2 tbspunsalted butter, cold
- 2scallions, thinly sliced(for serving)
- 1 tsptoasted sesame seeds(for serving)
Steps
- 1
Pat the tenderloins completely dry. Trim off the silver skin by sliding a sharp knife under it and peeling it back. Season the meat all over with salt and pepper.
- 2
Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- 3
Sear the tenderloins on all four sides until deeply browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
- 4
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic to the same pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
- 5
Add the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, dijon, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- 6
Pour in the chicken stock and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer.
- 7
Return the tenderloins to the pan and turn to coat in the sauce. Slide the pan into a 400F oven and roast until a thermometer in the thickest part reads 140F, about 10 to 12 minutes, turning once in the sauce halfway through.
- 8
Transfer the pork to a board and tent with foil. Rest 5 minutes — carryover will bring it to 145F.
- 9
Return the pan to the stove over medium-high. Simmer the sauce until reduced to a glaze that coats the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes.
- 10
Off the heat, swirl in the cold butter until the sauce is glossy.
- 11
Slice the pork into 1/2-inch medallions. Arrange on a platter, pour the glaze over the top, and finish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.
One more thing
And we're done. Twenty-five minutes, two tenderloins, one skillet, and a sauce that will have people scraping the plate with the side of their fork — and you should let them, scraping a plate is a compliment, do not be the kind of person who judges plate-scraping. Serve over jasmine rice with a quick steamed broccoli or some bok choy on the side, leftovers cold the next day on a sandwich with extra glaze drizzled on, and write me a postcard from your new life. Now go eat.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Bigly Honey Garlic Pork.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
★ MORE LIKE THIS ★
KEEP COOKING.
The Greatest Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
Pork loin roast wrapped in a lattice of bacon, rubbed with rosemary, garlic, and brown sugar, roasted until juicy and topped with a maple-Dijon glaze.
Huge Cuban Sandwich
Classic Cuban sandwich with slow-roasted mojo pork, ham, Swiss, yellow mustard, and pickles, pressed until golden and crackly on Cuban or Italian bread.
Huge Glazed Ham
Bone-in spiral ham with a brown sugar, mustard, and bourbon glaze. Tender, juicy, lacquered to a deep mahogany shine. Holiday-table greatness.
Tremendous Italian Sausage
Homemade Italian sausage with toasted fennel, garlic, and a sweet-or-hot option. Bulk loose sausage ready for pasta, pizza, soup, or stuffing peppers.