Kristina Wiley glazes away at a fine cut of pork tenderloin and ends up with a great Easter ham alternative.
Text And Photo By Kristina Wiley
With Easter fast approaching, I had every intention of making a ham the other night – a nice beautiful glazed ham. I walked over to my Publix (thrilled that I live practically in it’s backyard), and marched myself right over to the cooked ham section. Hello, disappointment! $17.99 for a whimpy little teeny tiny ham (that’s not even sliced!)?! PULEEZE – like I was going to spend that on a weeknight dinner for just me and my husband! Think again.
I decided to get creative and took a few steps over and saw some beautiful pork tenderloins staring me in the face. I wondered how a ham glaze would taste on a pork tenderloin? At $7.99 for nearly 2 lbs of pork, I thought it was worth a shot! 
I started pouring a little of this, a little of that into a small bowl to create a glaze that I thought would taste fabulous. And you know what, it DID. Sometimes experiments just work out like that (Enter: Halleluja Chorus)!
This pork tenderloin was to. die. for. (and that is coming from someone who is not all that into ‘the other white meat’). The hubs could not stop talking about it (that’s how I know he really really likes something).
Looking for a new twist on the usual Easter classic? Try this!
Dijon Honey-Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin
- Total Time: 12 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A twist on the classic glazed ham: Savory and Sweet Glazed Pork Tenderloin.
Ingredients
- 1.5–2 lb (680–907 g) Pork Tenderloin (Mine was 1.7 lbs)
- 1/3 cup (65 g) Packed Brown Sugar
- 1 TBS (15 ml) Dijon Mustard
- 1 TBS (15 ml) White Vinegar
- 1 TBS (15 ml) Honey
- 1 TBS (15 ml) Maple Syrup
- 1/2 (2 ml) tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 (1 ml) tsp Allspice
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry pork tenderloin. Place into a large ziplock bag and set aside. Mix remaining ingredients together in a small bowl. Reserve 3 TBS of the mixture and set aside. Pour remainder of mixture into the plastic bag over the pork. Push as much air out of the bag as you can and seal it. Make sure the mixture coats the pork thoroughly (using your hands to move the liquid inside of the bag). Allow to marinate for 12-24 hours (I usually do this the night before).
- Pull pork out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking. Preheat oven to 400º. Heat 1-2 TBS canola oil in a large oven-safe skillet (I used my cast iron) over medium high heat. Sear the pork on all sides (about 5 minutes in total).
- Place entire skillet into the oven and bake until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150°F (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from oven and also remove pork from skillet and place onto a cutting board. Allow to rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing. Slice across the grain into half inch thick pieces and serve.
- Prep Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 25 mins
I’m not a big pork fan, but you made this look and sound so delicious, I’m sure I would enjoy it :)
What do you do with the 3 TBS reserved glaze?
Honestly the best meat I’ve ever made or tasted in my life
Honest
Better than restaurant food
Better than thanksgiving dinner
I think you’ve just given me a new reason to exist
And to the commenter above, the 3 tbsp of glaze is for basting it while its cooking
My. Goodness.
This is what heaven tastes like :’)
This was awesome! My husband is ready for me to make it again.
This was great and easy. It was also absolutely great on my sweetpotatoe bake. I used the sauce instead of just butter and br. Sugar. Wow!!!