Name: Maple-Mustard Sauce
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; 1 medium onion , halved and sliced thin (about 1 cup); 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth; 1/3 cup maple syrup; 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a pork tenderloin recipe that would be fast enough for a weeknight dinner and still offer maximum flavor. Cutting the tenderloins into 1 ½-inch-thick medallions and tying the medallions or wrapping blanched bacon around them, fastened with toothpicks, allowed us to create a beautiful sear on all sides of these neat packages in the time it took the meat to reach an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees. The searing process had the extra benefit of producing enough fond to create several easy, flavorful pan sauces for our pork tenderloin medallions recipe.

Instructions

Pour off any fat from skillet in which pork was cooked. Add oil and heat skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add broth; bring to simmer, scraping bottom of skillet with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Add syrup, vinegar, mustard, and any juices from resting meat and cook until thickened and reduced to 1 cup, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, pour sauce over pork, and serve.