Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

Pork tenderloin may be one of my favorite cuts of meat. It is tender and succulent and if cooked well, it can nearly melt in your mouth.

This recipe that my brother and sister-in-law sent me is far and away the best method I've ever used for preparing pork tenderloin. Initially I was nervous about trying it because I'm not crazy about using cinnamon in savory main courses. But am I ever glad I gave in and tried it! This dish is absolutely amazing (and not overpowering with cinnamon at all). The combination of warm spices results in perfection when rubbed on the pork loin. And the glaze? Oh, the glaze. I could have eaten it by the spoonful. The cooked pork is mouthwatering in it's velvety, slightly spicy, slightly sweet sauce and this has become my go-to recipe for pork.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it is a cinch to prepare yet makes an elegant, unique dinner that would be great for entertaining...or better yet, simply for a nice weeknight meal.

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin
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Printable Version with Picture

*Makes about 2 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, enough to serve 8-10 adults*

Rub Ingredients:
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/2 lb. total), each tenderloin cut into two chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil

Glaze ingredients:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat the pork with the spice rub. Heat the oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet that is ovenproof (I used my cast iron skillet) over medium high heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Brown the pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in the skillet.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat on top of each tenderloin. Roast in the middle of the oven until a thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140, about 25 minutes. Let pork stand in the skillet at room temperature for 10 minutes. The temperature will rise to about 155 while standing.

Recipe Source: Nate and Kylie

A Few Favorites

If you are looking for some last minute holiday entertaining/gift/food ideas and can't seem to find what you are looking for in Sugar Rush, here are a few of my other holiday favorites from blog posts past:

Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies: It's like you are eating up the holidays in brownie form. Chewy and buttery and delicious.


Chocolate and Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods: Hands down my favorite, favorite, favorite Christmas candy to make and eat. Sweet, salty, beautiful and tasty.


Chocolate Cream Cheese Truffles: No tempering chocolate or messy dipping, just simple, decadent truffles that will have you ruining any and all diet plans.


Holiday Morning Buns: Our traditional Christmas morning breakfast - made the night before for a no-fuss breakfast, these buns are tender, light and absolutely amazing.


Chocolate Peppermint Cookies: A Girl Scout Thin Mint knockoff, these cookies are unbelievable. Every time I make them I can't believe how stunning they are. A holiday favorite around our house.


Chocolate Turtle Cookies: Another favorite Christmas cookie, these are absolutely breathtaking in presentation and delicious in taste - chewy, nutty, caramelly and perfect.


Almond Roca: I've been making this version of toffee for years and it is unbelievably buttery and yummy. My favorite toffee recipe by a long shot.


Mock Chocolate Macadamia Nut Toffee: A simpler, yet just as tasty version of toffee. Made with graham crackers, a whole lot of other love (read: butter and sugar), and topped with chocolate and macadamia nuts - this toffee ranks right up there with my favorites.


Gingerbread Sleds: Our family's favorite holiday tradition and our take on the famous gingerbread house, we decorate these every year and have a blast doing it. Filled with goodies, these sleds make the perfect neighbor treat.


Now, enough of the sweets, right?? Check back Monday for a healthy and delicious recipe that is lovely enough for entertaining and simple enough for a weeknight meal!

Tutorial: Shaping Perfect Rolls

I promised in the tutorial on yeast that I would post about shaping perfect rolls.

Occasionally, I use a crescent shape for rolls, especially these Lion House rolls, but for almost every other roll recipe, I use the method below. It ensures perfectly round, beautiful rolls.

After my dough has gone through the first rise,


I take the dough out of the bowl and place it on the greased plastic wrap that was covering the bowl. Then, I take my handy-dandy bench scraper/cutter tool and slice off pieces of dough to shape into rolls.


If I am being really precise, I use my kitchen scale to make sure that each piece of dough is about the same size - for an average size dinner roll, I use pieces of dough that weigh about 2 ounces each.


Using my savvy technical knowledge (not! please don't dwell on how the camera is unsteady), I videotaped my method for shaping the dough into round, smooth balls.


Once all the pieces have been shaped into rolls, I cover the baking sheet with greased plastic wrap. You'll notice I have a silpat liner on my baking sheet. If you don't have a silpat or prefer not to use one (the horror!), lightly grease the baking sheet or line with parchment paper.


Once the rolls have doubled in size and puffed beautifully, they are ready to be baked.


Here is the finished product. Golden, lovely, perfect rolls ready to be devoured.


Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any comments or questions about this tutorial: mykitchencafe at gmail dot com.