Pork with Morel-Calvados Sauce

By Flyer920

Medallions of pork tenderloin are pan fried until tender and golden. They are smothered with a rich morel cream sauce that has a hint of Calvados.

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1 * 1 shallot
• 6 * 6 fresh sage leaves
• 1 * 1 cup dark stock (chicken, veal or beef)
• 1/4 * 1/4 cup calvados
• 1/2 * 1/2 cup cream
• 1 * 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• * salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 * 2 tsp grapeseed oil (approx.)

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the pork, cut into about 1-inch medallions. Lightly press down on the pork just to flatten and even it out a bit. Place the medallions onto a cooling rack and let them temper while you soak the mushrooms.

Soak the dried morel mushrooms in hot water for about 15 minutes. You can use any mix of wild mushrooms for this dish, but the morels add a nice earthy flavor. Once the mushrooms are cleaned and softened, give them a rough chop and set aside.

To prepare your mise en place, finely mince the shallots and sage. Measure out the chicken stock, Calvados, cream and Dijon mustard and set aside.

To cook the pork, season both sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a stainless-steel fry pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan has been properly heated, add the oil followed by the pork.

Once you add the pork, turn the heat down to medium to medium-low. Use the flip often method to cook the pork, flipping after each minute. Continue to flip the pork until it’s cooked to your liking, which should take about 5 to 7 minutes. (Note: a it's ok if the pork is a tiny bit pink. The pink around the sides will continue to cook due to the carry over cooking.) Cover and let rest while you prepare the sauce.

To prepare the sauce, place the pan over medium-low heat. Check to see that there is enough oil in the pan. If not, add a touch more oil and then sauté the shallots until soft and golden.

Next, carefully deglaze with the calvados and flambé to burn off the alcohol. Once the alcohol has burned off, reduce the Calvados by about half. Add the mushrooms and stir. Next, add the stock. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Let simmer and reduce the sauce by about half. Don't let it reduce down to a sauce-like consistency - this is because you'll be adding cream, which will thicken the sauce considerably.

Once the stock has reduced, add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce this by about half. If you happen to over-reduce the cream and the sauce is too thick, simply add a touch more stock to bring it back to the right consistency.

Once you reach the desired consistency, add the Dijon and sage. Taste for seasoning.


Serving the Dish

To finish, add the pork back to the pan. Turn each piece to coat it in the sauce. Add any pan drippings to the pan and turn the pork one last time to ensure it is heated through and coated in the sauce. Then place the pork onto a plate and pour the sauce over top and serve immediately.