Chipotle Seasoned Pork Tenderloin

'tis the season...

A while back I tried this marinated pork tenderloin recipe from Alton (as if we're on a first-name basis) and it didn't really grab me.  So I went all in with the chipotles in adobo and a winner was born.  Just don't put more of this marinade/sauce on the pork than I recommend here.  It turns out that chipotles are smoked jalepenos and that means that they are still jalepenos -- hotter ones if you ask me.  If you have friends that have cast-iron palates just serve them a little extra sauce on the side.

You'll need;

• 1 to 2 pound pork tenderloin (or two 1 pounders)
• a 7oz can of chipotles in adobo sauce (check the pic for the brand I use)
• 2 limes
• 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 an onion (chopped)
• 4 oz mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
• an oven safe skillet  

To make the sauce/marinade you need to zest one of the limes into a blender with the oil, agave nectar, garlic powder, juice from both limes and the contents of the chipotle can.  Blend into a paste.

Half of this paste goes into a ziplock bag with the pork to marinate.  4 to 24 hours, it depends on how much time you have.The other half is your sauce.

Preheat your oven to 375 and your skillet to med hi.  Put the butter and onions in the skillet and sweat them for a minute or two.

Add the mushrooms for two minutes.

Make a space for the tenderloin and use the skillet to sear the pork on all four sides -- about a minute per side.

Put the probe of your thermometer into the fattest part of the meat and get this thing into the oven.  Next stop, 140-145F internal temp.

Before the pork finishes, prepare a resting foil with a swipe of sauce.

When the temp is reached, remove the skillet and get the pork into the foil.  Put another spoonful of sauce on top and button it up for 5 to 10 minutes.

The mushrooms and onions will have caramelized in to sweet and spicy awesomeness but may need to be coaxed off the skillet. Use a tiny bit of water, if necessary.

After the rest period, slice the pork and plate.  The small amount of sauce that stuck to the pork is all you need, but like I said, put the rest on the table for people who don't wanna taste anything. Cilantro for garnish. (For the photos I used chives -- sorry)

The onions and mushrooms can be stirred into rice or couscous to punch it up and help it compliment the pork.

Pow!  Liftoff!