Pork Medallions with Barbecue Sauce

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The sauce in this recipe is a riff on the one I helped develop for Bubba’s, a barbecue joint owned by my Ouest-restaurant partners. It’s more simple than the kind of sauce you’d encounter in the nation’s bastions of barbecue, but a relatively quick way to make your own from scratch. If you don’t want to fire up the grill, cook the medallions in a sauté pan over medium high heat for five to six minutes per side for medium-rare, seven to eight minutes for more well done.

 

2 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each) halved crosswise

3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 quart water

4 large Spanish onions, peeled and cut into small dice

2 cups cider vinegar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

11/2 cups tomato ketchup 1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup chipotle chiles in adobo, pureed in a blender

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

1. Put the pork medallions in a baking dish. Scatter the garlic slices over the pork and drizzle with the olive oil. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add the onions and boil until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and discard.

3. Gradually stir the vinegar and brown sugar into the boiling water and let boil for 5 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, molasses, chipotle puree, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and cumin seeds. Remove the pot from the heat. If not serving immediately, let cool, cover, and refrigerate for a few days or freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat before proceeding.

4. Remove the pork medallions from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Set aside half of the sauce. Prepare an outdoor grill for grilling.

5. Brush off the garlic slices and excess oil from the pork medallions, season them on both sides with salt and pepper, and place them on the grate over the hottest part of the grill. Grill, basting with the remaining half of the barbecue sauce, for about 5 minutes on each side.

6. To serve, place 1 pork portion on each of 4 plates and serve the reserved barbecue sauce alongside.