Cherries are a sign of summer for me. When my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Maine, we stopped at a grocery store and bought a bag of cherries to snack on. So I always know that cherries just come into season right after our anniversary and it’s something I look forward to. I have to confess that I’m picky about my cherries. I like them to be a very dark red, almost black and they must be firm. This means I pick through the bags of cherries I bring home and many don’t make the cut. Instead of throwing them out or hoping someone else in the family would eat the ones I rejected, I decided to use them up to make this easy and flavorful sauce for pork tenderloin. The sauce would also be great with beef or bison. The sweetness of the cherries is contrasted with the tang of the balsamic vinegar to create a deep, rich sauce you won’t be able to get enough of.

Herbed Pork Tenderloin with Black Cherry Sauce

 

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Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin
• olive oil
• Fresh thyme, sage, and chives, chopped (a few leaves of sage, some stalks of thyme and about 15 chives - adjust this to reflect what you have available)
• salt and pepper
• 35 sweet cherries, pitted
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

1. Preheat the grill to medium.
2. Rub the tenderloin with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs and allow to rest a few minutes before grilling. Grill meat until it reaches 145 degrees.
3. While the meat is grilling, place the cherries, balsamic vinegar, water, salt, pepper, and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes.
4. Scoop out a few tablespoons of the sauce and whisk the cornstarch in it, then return to the pan and stir until thickened. Serve with the meat.

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