Miso Glazed Pork Tenderloin – Recipe!

Pork is one of my favorite meats, if not my favorite. I love pork tenderloin because of its delicate lean texture and lovely flavor. Pork tenderloin is nice when grilled, but I also love to roast it. Marinating your pork tenderloin for a few hours first, allows the meat to tenderize and becomes even more succulent. I think it is one of the easiest meats to prepare and very cost effective.

Miso is a fermented soybean paste that is available in most markets. I prefer yellow miso because the flavor is mild without any bitter aftertaste. The combination of miso, fresh ginger and a few spices has an Umami flavor that resembles flavors from dishes in your favorite Japanese restaurants.

I like to cook this recipe for Miso Glazed Pork Tenderloin with roasted root vegetables and stir-fried shishito peppers. The root veggies cook at the exact temperature and time as the pork, so less clean up time. This recipe makes a great weeknight supper or great for easy entertaining.

Ingredients

1-2 pound pork tenderloin

1/4 cup yellow miso paste

2 teaspoons fresh ginger

2 tablespoons Mirin, sweet sake

1 teaspoon dried coriander

1 dash allspice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup brown sugar

warm water

olive oil

(Serves 4-6 people)

To Prepare:

1. Remove the lid from the miso and peel and grate the fresh ginger with a microplane or grater.

2. In a glass dish, combine the miso, fresh ginger and the Mirin, sweet cooking sake. You can use regular sake or a splash of white wine if you don’t have Mirin.

3. Add the coriander, allspice and black pepper to the dish. With a spoon, stir the marinade roughly together. Then, add the brown sugar and stir again to combine. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of warm warm to smooth out the marinade.

4. Add the pork tenderloin to the marinade and flip to coat on all sides. Pierce the pork with a knife in several places to better infuse the marinade into the pork.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or better if overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pork from the dish and place it on a sheet plan drizzled with a little olive oil. Cut up any carrots or other root veggies to cook with pork. Place the veggies on the other half of sheet pan. Roast the pork and veggies for 20-25 minutes, or until thermometer reads 138 degrees.