Ten years ago, I posted a recipe I created in homage to a dish I had in Santa Fe in 1994. I’ve always liked my recipe but, all along, felt it lacked just a little something.
For one thing, there was no sauce. At some point in the late 90s I started roasting it with canned diced tomatoes, but that just didn’t do it. It got gloppy, and I really dislike gloppy. Happily, I have fixed the sauce issue with today’s version.
To get the enhanced flavor I was seeking, in addition to the sauce, I thought perhaps the tenderloin needed to be seared before roasting. That turned out to be a disaster because (spoiler alert) chocolate is a main ingredient and it ended up burned and bitter… and the interior of the pork was still flavorless.
Then, just last week, it hit me — I realized that brining the tenderloins for a couple of hours with a few simple ingredients (salt, brown sugar, spices) would do the trick. The meat was succulent and flavorful, and the pan sauce was perfect. I can honestly say now, “I’m done tinkering.” (But check back in 10 years, just in case.)
We had a zoom dinner with Susan (Provence WineZine), Towny, and Lisa on the East Coast, and made the pork together in our separate kitchens. We paired this dish with a wonderful Syrah-Grenache blend (Clos de Caveau Vacqueyras); you can read about it on the Provence WineZine. Our side dish was the Potato-Pumpkin Mash that we had in Sicily; for this version I added a heaping teaspoon of cumin. The mash can be made in advance and reheated.
~ David
Cinnamon Chile Chocolate Pork Tenderloin
Click link below to print recipe!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 whole dried chiles de árbol, or other dried hot chiles (optional)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cups water
- 2 1-pound pork tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons olive (or neutral) oil, plus extra for pan
- 2 tablespoons ground Mexican chocolate: Ibarra or Abuelita (see note below)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground New Mexico chile (medium or mild)
- 1/2 cup port wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Place the salt, brown sugar, whole chiles, and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. After it comes to a boil, remove from the heat and make sure the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add 2 cups cool water and set aside until fully cooled.
- Place tenderloins in a ceramic or glass container with a lid (or in a resealable gallon-size bag). Remove the chiles and cinnamon stick, and pour brine over the pork, ensuring that it is fully covered. Brine in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- An hour and a half before serving time, remove the meat from the brine and pat it dry with towels. Oil an oven-proof skillet, large enough to hold both tenderloins. Rub the pork all over with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Mix the chocolate, chile powder, and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. (If your grater doesn’t grate the chocolate finely enough, you can combine the three ingredients in a spice grinder.) Rub mixture into the tenderloins, pressing it into the flesh; place the tenderloins into the oiled skillet. Sprinkle remaining rub over into the pan to each side and between the tenderloins. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Twenty minutes prior to roasting, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Drizzle oil to the sides and in between the tenderloins onto the rub mixture (this will be the start of the sauce); you do not need to drizzle the pork with oil. Roast for 25 minutes. The pork will be pink in the middle; adjust the roasting time if you like it more well done. Move meat to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before carving. While meat is resting, put the skillet on the stovetop and bring it to medium-high heat. When sizzling, deglaze the pan with the port and broth, scraping all the browned rub off the bottom of the pan. Cook down and, when thickened, add a tablespoon butter and swirl in to finish the sauce.
- Cut the pork in 1/2-inch slices, and serve them, overlapping, drizzled with the pan sauce.
- Serves 6-8.
- Notes:
- • If you cannot source Mexican chocolate, use dark chocolate with about 56-60% cacao.
- • Leftovers are great for tacos!
© 2024 Copyright Cocoa & Lavender
Peg
February 5, 2022 at 8:09 amHow did you know I’d just bought pork tenderloins? This sounds delightful and I can’t wait to try it!
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2022 at 11:53 amI have a very uncanny sixth sense when it comes to food, Peg! 🙂
John / Kitchen Riffs
February 5, 2022 at 9:02 amI’m rarely done tinkering with recipes. 🙂 Anyway, this looks wonderful! Very interesting dish with a lot of flavors working together. Pork tenderloin can be a bit meh — this recipe is anything but. Really good — thanks.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2022 at 11:54 amI’m pretty much the same way, John, but I have been working on this one for almost 30 years, so I think it’s time to say, “Done!“ I really like pork tenderloin, but you are so right… It can be boring. Finding ways to make it flavorful is so important.
Ron
February 5, 2022 at 9:08 amI believe any dish 10 years in the making has to be a great dish and this looks amazing. Thanks for the chocolate substitution tip.
It’s such fun trying to duplicate a great dish that one has experienced and even more fun if there is no recipe or direction. But, I haven’t had the patients to stay on a dish for 10 years, very impressive, David.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2022 at 11:54 amWell, Ron, truth be told, this is actually almost 30 years in the making! 10 years ago was simply the last version… I do love tinkering with recipes, and I very rarely make anything twice the same way… I imagine it’s the same in your household, right?
Ron
February 7, 2022 at 8:04 amYep, for the most part, dishes in our house are always changing. The problem is that I sometimes forget to notate the changes and then can’t repeat the improved taste.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 8, 2022 at 1:30 amThat sounds pretty familiar, Ron. Once I started blogging, though, I got much better at making those little cryptic notes to help me out the next time I make the dish.
Jill Becker
February 5, 2022 at 10:11 amLooks delicious. Must add to my “must make” file. Wasn’t this in Reciprocity??
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2022 at 11:55 amOh, yes! I am sure this was in recip(e)rocity many years ago. It’s been a regular in my kitchen for years. I hope you and Dave like it!
Gerlinde
February 5, 2022 at 1:08 pmI think that all of us that love like to tinker with recipes. I never make pork tenderloin but your recipe looks great.
Gerlinde
February 5, 2022 at 1:10 pmOops, for those of us that love to cook
Cocoa & Lavender
February 6, 2022 at 6:22 pmYes, tinkering with our recipes is a lot of fun! I need to send you a private email, Gerlinde — I don’t seem to be getting your posts any longer. For a while, I thought you weren’t blogging. But I seem to find you back online and I miss getting your posts.
Eha
February 5, 2022 at 3:30 pmIt seems almost unfair to go into the kitchen and use the fruits of a decade’s work by by another person to have a very different but unctuous dish on my plate ! A very interesting cornucopia of ingredients in the sauce . . . somehow ‘Mexican’ resonated in my brain ere I came upon the whole list . . . oh, am fascinated enough to try next week ! Am not a potato lover but potato and pumpkin mash seems to have become very popular hereabouts so shall make the full dish. Thanks . . .
Cocoa & Lavender
February 6, 2022 at 6:24 pmI really do think you will like this, Eha. It’s A great combination of flavors, and, as you said, the pumpkin with the potato and caramelized onions is a really nice accompaniment.
Gaelen
February 5, 2022 at 5:53 pmWe adore brining over here. Just about every protein is treated to this bath and dried for a while before cooking. I can’t wait to try your recipe.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 6, 2022 at 6:24 pmLet me know what you and Steve think! I can’t wait for you to try it.
Frank @Memorie di Angelina
February 6, 2022 at 6:42 amI mostly avoid pork tenderloin except for the occasional breaded cutlet. But brining followed by a rub sounds like a clever way to make an otherwise dry and bland cut of meat both juicy and flavorful.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 6, 2022 at 6:25 pmUntil today, I never realized how people felt about pork tenderloin. I guess the trick is to making it flavorful and interesting. Thanks for thinking that mine is, Frank!
sippitysup
February 6, 2022 at 10:21 amTo be always evolving is the key to happiness in lifr. I mean in the kitchen… GREG
sippitysup
February 6, 2022 at 10:22 amThat’s “life”. Sometimes I think faster than I type. GREG
David Scott Allen
February 6, 2022 at 6:13 pmI totally get it! I do that all the time…
And, yes, definitely in the kitchen!
Jean | Delightful Repast
February 6, 2022 at 12:14 pmDavid, what a wonderful dish! And I love that it’s a 10-year-do-over. We who love to cook are never happier than we’re tinkering with recipes. And the tinkering clearly paid off in this case.
David Scott Allen
February 6, 2022 at 6:14 pmIt really did pay off, Jean. Like I said, I’ve been making this recipe for almost 30 years, and it took a lot of tinkering to get it where it is. Glad you like it!
Ronit Penso Tasty Eats
February 6, 2022 at 2:38 pmThis definitely looks like a winner, and worth all the years of experimenting.
I always add some Mexican chocolate to my chili con carne, so I know I would love this dish. 🙂
David Scott Allen
February 6, 2022 at 6:15 pmIt can be a great addition to many different things, Ronit: chili, ragù, and more! I bet your chili is incredible!
Ronit Penso Tasty Eats
February 9, 2022 at 11:03 pmThe chili version I’ve posted in my blog is also one that’s been on the making for some time. I’m quite happy with it – at least for now… Maybe it’ll also get a remake at some point! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
February 12, 2022 at 9:40 amI will look for it – we love chili!
Inger
February 7, 2022 at 6:24 amYum! I so know the feeling that a dish has real potential just needs something. Kudos to you for actually perfecting it!
Cocoa & Lavender
February 7, 2022 at 9:31 amBut was it too embarrassing to admit it has taken me almost 30 years?
Susan Manfull
February 7, 2022 at 7:41 amI can confirm that this dish is outstanding! And it pairs beautifully with the Syrah-Grenache blend produced by Clos de Caveau in Vacqueyras, France. As you may remember reading above, my husband and I made this meal along with David via Zoom. My sister-in-law, who was also at the table that evening, wondered if the same rub could be used on another meat. David suggested turkey. We tried the variation a couple weeks later and… it was divine!
Cocoa & Lavender
February 7, 2022 at 9:32 amI’m so glad the turkey suggestion worked, Susan! While not a fan of that winged creature, I know so ,any who are — this could be the “next” popular Thanksgiving rub!
Raymund
February 10, 2022 at 6:18 pmI usually do the same thing, always try to revisit my old recipes and give it some tweaks. Certainly experience over the years would give a different result from now compared to what was created more than 10 years ago. Such an elegant dish David
Cocoa & Lavender
February 12, 2022 at 9:43 amThanks, Raymund! Wouldn’t be fun to do side-by-side tastings of our original recipe and the most up-to-date versions?
Valentina
February 16, 2022 at 2:09 pmIsn’t it the most satisfying feeling to get a recipe exactly how you want it after a lot of experimentation? I love it.
I’m in love will every single flavor in this dish. And I bet the sweetness from the pumpkin is perfect with all of the spices in the pork. It’s on my “to make” list! 🙂 ~Valentina
sherry
February 21, 2022 at 7:04 pmi love pumpkin/potato mash! but sorry, not so keen on pork. I just can’t do it:) I’m sure you’ve read on my blog that hubby and i can’t eat it. Long pig!! Cannibals etc…
Provençal Pairings: Wine with FoodDinner with Friends - Provence WineZine
March 5, 2022 at 7:13 am[…] When considering a pairing for a wine that is 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, I know that I want food that has a bit of spice. It really accentuates the flavors in the wine. Coincidentally, I was working on the reboot of a recipe I created back in the mid-90s: Cinnamon Chile Chocolate Pork. Both Susan and I thought it would make a great pairing with the Vacqueyras. You can find the recipe Cocoa & Lavender. […]