On a busy weeknight, one of my favorite things to cook is a pork tenderloin. They are easy to season, go great with all kinds of sides, and cook quickly. This recipe for Cherry Glazed Pork Tenderloin makes you feel like you are in a 5 star restaurant, without the long wait or hefty price tag!
How to Make Prepare the Pork
For this recipe you will need a total of 3 pounds of pork loin. In a small dish, mix together 1 1/4 teaspoons of Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Mix that together and then rub it into all sides of the meat.
In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium to high heat and grill the pork for about 8 minutes. Turn it so all sides are browned.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Once the pork has browned, place each loin into a bread loaf pan or glass dish. I use a bread tin because I like to catch the juices to use later on during basting.
Roast the pork tenderloins at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 135 degrees.
How to Make the Cherry Glaze
While the pork is in the oven, you will want to start working on the AMAZING cherry glaze!
Start with a small sauce pan and your favorite red wine! I would suggest using port, merlot, or malbec. I used Menage a Trois Merlot, it is my favorite red wine to cook with. As I always say, never cook with wine you wouldn't drink!
If you don't like to cook with alcohol, you can use chicken stock instead.
Pour 3/4 cup of the wine into the sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Cook this for about 10 minutes so the alcohol burns off and the liquid reduces to about 2 tablespoons.
Once the wine has reduced, stir in 1/2 cup of cherry preserves (you can find these in the jam section at the grocery store) and let it heat through for about 45 seconds. Then remove it from the heat immediately and stir in 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme.
Be careful not to heat the preserves longer than 45 seconds on the stove. The jelly will liquefy and your glaze won't stick to the pork.
Remove the pork loin from the oven at the half way point and generously brush on some of the cherry glaze. Pop it back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes.
Once the glazed pork tenderloin is finished cooking, brush on the remaining glaze and then let the meat sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
This step is crucial for retaining moisture inside the meat. If you cut it too early, all the juices will run out resulting in a dry pork tenderloin.
Putting It All Together
Remember how I told you I like to cook the pork in the bread pan? You'll see in the picture how I kept some of the cherry glaze for dipping with the meal.
I served this cherry glazed pork tenderloin with Easy Roasted Potatoes and steamed broccoli. The potatoes can cook at the same temperature as the pork so I often use them as an easy side.
I had dinner on the table in just over 30 minutes! Mom victory!
Does this look like a dinner you might like to try? If so, save this pin to reference the recipe later. If you do try it, drop me a line in the comments and let me know what you thought of it! Happy cooking y'all!
Cherry Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Equipment
- large skillet
- bread loaf pans or glass pan
- small sauce pan
Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless pork tenderloin
- 3/4 cup red wine merlot, port, or malbec
- 1/2 cup cherry preserves
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix the salt and pepper and garlic powder in a small bowl, then rub over all the sides of the pork tenderloin.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the pork over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes. Turn frequently to brown all sides.
- While pork is cooking, add the wine to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let cook for about 10 minutes or until the wine reduces to about 2 tablespoons of liquid.
- Once the pork is finished cooking, place inside a bread loaf tin or a glass pan and cook at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 135 degrees.
- When the wine has reduced, add the cherry preserves and stir over the heat no more than 45 seconds. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in the thyme.
- When the pork has cooked 10 minutes, brush on 1/2 of the cherry glaze and return to the oven for the remaining 10 minutes.
- Once finished, remove the pork from the oven, brush on the rest of the glaze, and let the meat sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
- Save any pan drippings from the meat and glaze as a dipping sauce. Cut pork into 1-inch slices and serve warm with the reserved cherry glaze.
Hello, what do you think of using cherry juice instead of the wine/broth? Just curious! Really wanting that cherry taste is all!
This recipe sounds FANTASTIC and I plan to try it as soon as I buy cherry preserves! But you keep going back and forth between “tenderloin” and “loin” in the recipe. I THINK you are using TENDERLOINS (at least, mine look like your pictures!), but it’s confusing because those are 2 different cuts of pork. Can you please clarify or simply change all the “loin” to “tenderloin”?
I just made this cherry glazed pork tenderloin for guests and everyone loved it. I will definitely make it again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for writing in to share.