Apple cider is the secret ingredient that makes the most incredible moist pork tenderloin! The marinade does double duty as an incredible glaze / sauce, which means few ingredients are required to make this Apple Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin that’s worthy of a posh dinner party!
Have you ever used apple cider as a marinade before? It’s like a secret weapon broth / stock. Because it’s got so many more layers than just plain apple juice or even broth, which means you don’t need many other ingredients to create incredible flavour!
Just to be clear – I’m talking about alcoholic apple cider. In some parts of the world, including America, “apple cider” refers to a non alcoholic drink made from (this will surprise you 😉 ) apples. In America, alcoholic apple cider is known as hard cider.
It’s like using beer in cooking but easier, because unlike beer, cider doesn’t have wheat undertones that needs to be cooked out. Apple cider tastes much cleaner and a bit sweet, but not overly so, it’s very crisp.
I used Rochdale Apple Cider in my recipe. I feel very honoured that they asked me to sample their cider and if I liked it, to create a recipe using it. I was quite interested to read about how it is made. It’s so pure – made with just apple juice, pure New Zealand glacial water, and yeast. That’s it! Seriously!
No preservatives! It’s GLUTEN-FREE!!! This is a big plus for me because one of my regular taste-tester friends is gluten free. 🙂
So I kicked back and sipped on a chilled bottle of Rochdale cider, contemplating what I could make. And came up with the idea to use it as a marinade….
But in all seriousness, check out how juicy this pork is! Pork tenderloin is notoriously hard to cook so it’s nice and juicy because it’s so lean. But when you brine / marinade pork tenderloin in apple cider….woah! I was amazed at the juices that squeezed out of it as I sliced it!!
Here – see for yourself!
Rochdale Apple Cider. Cook with it. Drink it. The best kind of ingredient there is!!
It was after 12pm when I took these photos. Hence TOTALLY acceptable to have a sip….or two….ok, I finished the bottle. Don’t judge me.
I served this with an Apple & Fennel salad because apple and pork are great mates, and fennel and pork are lovers. So I figured I couldn’t go wrong.
I really do think this is a dish worthy of a dinner party.
But you tell me – what do you think? If this was served up to you at a dinner, would you be pleased? 😉 -Nagi x
Pork tenderloin recipes
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Also try serving pork tenderloin with this Creamy Mushroom Sauce – just sear/roast pork per this recipe
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Apple Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 lb/500g pork tenderloin
Marinade
- 11 oz/330ml sweet apple cider (alcoholic aka "hard cider") - I used Rochdale Apple Cider (Note 1)
- 1 bay leaf , dried (or 2 fresh)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black Pepper
To Cook
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Mix the Marinade ingredients in a bowl.
- Place Marinade and pork in a large ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator overnight, up to 24 hours.
To Cook
- Remove pork in the marinade from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking (to bring to room temperature).
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Remove pork from marinade (reserve marinade) and place in pan. Sear until golden brown all over - don't let it burn (Note 2).
- Transfer skillet to the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature using a meat thermometer reads 145F/62C. (Note 3)
- Remove pork from skillet onto a plate and cover loosely with foil to rest while you make the sauce.
- Place skillet on the stove over high heat with butter. When the butter is melted, add reserved Marinade and mustard. Whisk until smooth.
- Bring to boil, then turn heat down so it is simmering VERY rapidly, and cook until the liquid becomes syrupy - about 4 to 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste.
- Remove skillet from the stove, roll pork in the sauce, then remove and slice. Pour remaining sauce in the skillet into a jug and serve on the side.
- I served this with a fennel apple salad on the side. (Note 4)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This post is sponsored by the lovely people at Rochdale Cider from New Zealand! Super crisp and clean, it’s made from glacial water which = extra clean taste. I especially love how crisp it tastes and not too sweet! Not a fan of overly sweet drinks. 🙂 N x
Excellent fall fare for us in New Hampshire USA. Served with Farro, butternut mash and green beans: effin’delish! 😊
After husband had cleaned his plate , he declared …. RESTAURANT QUALITY !!!!!!
absolutely gorgeous …
I am happy you both enjoyed it Mandy!! N x
Brilliant! I’m a new admirer & have tried several of your recipes!
For 4, need 2 x 340 gms approx pork fillets, tie tails in to bring meat to consistent size. Only needs 15 mins roasting, 5 mins resting.
Upscaled quantities for marinade, eg 500ml apple cider, 4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves.
Could possibly halve the honey & brown sugar.
For an extra special finish, strain the glaze prior to serving in a jug.
Serve with apple, pear & fennel salad with a Dijon mustard lemony dressing (basically Woolworths but using Dijon instead of tahini which need more olive oil)
Made this and yes I went out to buy apple cider😁. I did not have the time to let it sit 24hrs, but it sat maybe 2hrs. Everything was still flavorful and with thumbs up from all. I did cook the internal to 65°C and then while rented it went up 3 degrees. It was still a little pinker at the center but it was tender. The sauce gave it that extra boost. Thank you. I also made the fennel salad and the rice with kale, great addition.
That is great Delia – so happy you liked it! N x
I made this for a dinner party over the weekend and got rave reviews. Simple, delicious – perfect. Thanks, Nagi!
Dear Nagi, I’m so happy that I found your recipe. It was delicious. I think it is one the best pork tenderloins I’ve ever made. I cook a lot and like pork, but to me tenderloin has been tasteless until your recipe. Thank you so much. My BF loved it too!!! I used honey dijon mustard and non-alcoholic cider. I think next time I would use plain dijon mustard, and perhaps decrease the amount of N/A cider I use, and increase the apple cider vinegar a little bit. I think this may become a regular on our table. Thanks, Deirddra
I just made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. I am in the U. S. and not particularly fond of hard cider so I used apple cider from a local apple orchard. I used honey Dijon mustard instead of the plain Dijon. The marinade thickened up at the end and was delicious.
I love this recipe Nagi! Thank you so much, it’s a regular at my house. Was wondering if it is possible to freeze the marinated pork? Then thaw and cook later.
Yes 100% Amy! N x
I was using a recipe with apple concentrate frozen. We can’t find this in stores anymore so I will try apple cider with alcohol. We usually bbq our pork tenderloin which is delicious.
I am planning this for a New Year celebration with friends – do you have a ‘go to’ recipe for an apple / fennel salad? Can’t find one here, but found one from a kiwi blogger that sounds pretty damned good. Otherwise, I’ll do the ‘show-offy apple with walnuts and cranberries – that sounds pretty damned awesome too~~~
(Apologies if I’ve posted this twice, lol)
I don’t actually, feel free to pop it on my recipe request page! – N x
O.M.G.
OMG – SO delicious!!! I will definitely be making this again.
Wahoo!!
How much marinade does one set aside for making the sauce? Somehow I am missing that in the recipe. Can’t wait to try.
Oops, I see where you say to reserve all the marinade after the meat being in it. I have been taught to not use marinade after soaking meat. So I thought i was to remove some before the actual brining/marinading..
If you say it is safe, I will try your method. Cheers.
Hi Terry, yes used the reserved marinade, we cook it off again so it is safe to eat – N x
I loved the flavours in this. Any idea why the sauce wouldn’t glaze? I checked all of my quantities, but after 5 minutes of simmering, and an additional 10 minutes of boiling, still no glaze. My pork may have been a bit frozen when it went in the marinade, but that’s the only thing I could think of.
Hi Deb, if it was slightly frozen, all I can think of is that it’s leached extra liquid into the marinade that would make it take longer to get to the glaze stage – N x