Pork tenderloin gets a quick stove top sear and then finishes in the oven. Once sliced and plated, the pork tenderloin medallions are drizzled with an amazing syrupy bourbon and peach compote that’s tangy sweet and irresistible with flavor. It’s a super easy meal that’s easy enough for a weeknight yet impressive enough for entertaining. Let’s take a look.
Inspiration for this recipe
I swear I’m so impressionable when it comes to cooking and decisions made when deciding on dinner plans.
I was walking little Remy early one morning last week and stopped to visit with our neighbor Priscilla. We started talking about our supply of just arrived Palisade Peaches. Which led to peach sauces, which led to her plans to cook a pork tenderloin on her Big Green Egg which involved a pork tenderloin marinade, (which I thought sounded difficult). When she mentioned her plans included a bourbon peach compote…well the rest is history.
I came home and started making plans for my own peach sauce recipe for pork tenderloin, and you bet it involved bourbon. Let’s take a look at what I came up with.
Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Peach Compote
I really wanted to ditch the marinade process and simplify the recipe to make a gourmet pork tenderloin recipe that was quick to the table and big on flavor. And I wanted an oven baked pork tenderloin as opposed to a grilled pork tenderloin recipe.
And as far as peach sauces go, this was one of the best flavor combinations I’ve ever had, and the tenderloin was so tender and perfect.
The Key Ingredients are simple:
- Olive oil: No need to haul out the expensive bottle of olive oil, the one that you reserve for those elegant vinaigrettes. The olive oil for this recipe is simply used for searing the pork tenderloin stove top. To get it nice and browned before finishing in the oven.
- Pork Tenderloin: This recipe will feed four as a light main course. Or two hungry adults with a small amount of leftovers. Pork tenderloin usually come packaged in a one pound packages and that’s what I used.
- Fresh Peaches: You’ll need 3 – 4 medium peaches. I prefer yellow peaches, the quintessential peach with a beautiful peach flavor.
- Bourbon: I like to use Wild Turkey 101, it’s premium American Kentucky Bourbon. It’s a good sipping bourbon with classic flavor. Perfect for this peach sauce.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: I love adding vinegar to sauces. It’s as important as salt and pepper in my book. Vinegar always brightens flavor and adds that perfect tang to balance a sweet sauce.
- Agave Syrup: I’m out of honey, so have been using Agave Syrup. Agave Syrup is darker in color than honey and actually has a more neutral flavor than honey. Substitute honey if you don’t have agave syrup.
- Unsalted Butter: A swirl of butter to finish any sauce never hurts. It brings everything together with texture and flavor.
How To Make Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Bourbon Peach Sauce
Let’s get started, it’s an easy recipe.
Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Peach Compote – How To
- Gentlemen start your ovens Preheat that oven to 350 degrees
- Dust the Pork Tenderloin with Flour Place the flour on a dinner plate and gently roll the pork tenderloin to lightly coat with flour. Salt and pepper the tenderloin. Set aside.
- Sear the Pork Tenderloin Heat a heavy skillet or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the pork tenderloin and sear on two sides. Sear until if turns a golden brown.
- Finish the Pork Tenderloin In The Oven Remove the pork tenderloin to a baking sheet and place in oven. Cook until an instant read thermometer registers 140 degrees. This should only take about fifteen minutes.
- Make The Peach Bourbon Sauce While the tenderloin is in the oven, make the peach bourbon sauce. Add peeled and sliced peaches to skillet. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add bourbon, vinegar, and agave syrup, or honey. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; add butter, swirling until melted.
- Pork Tenderloin Medallions Slice the pork tenderloin into thick medallions. About 1 – 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Plate the Meal Fan pork medallions on a plate. Spoon the bourbon peach sauce liberally over the medallions. Serve immediately.
FAQ’s
Jam is a condiment where fruit is broken up into a spreadable consistency. The fruit in compote is left whole or in large chunks and routinely includes savory spices or flavorings.
In Summary, Why this Recipe Works
Pork tenderloin seared on the stove top creates a Maillard Reaction, which creates flavor. The browning component creates that distinctive meat flavor. Browning meat also makes it very oven friendly. It serves to hold in those precious meat juices which will keep the meat tender.
The recipe becomes super easy by finishing the pork tenderloin in the oven. Hands off means you have ample time to make that peach bourbon glaze.
And finally slicing the pork tenderloin into medallions, makes the feel like a special restaurant quality meal.
The woody undertones of bourbon are a perfect match for our sweet juicy fresh Palisade peaches. And an elegant flavor combination for pork tenderloin medallions.
About Palisade Peaches
Palisade Peaches are famously grown on our Western slope, in and around the town of Palisade. Colorado peaches are known for being extra juicy and extra sweet, thanks to the long sunny hot days and cool Colorado Summer nights. That equals perfect conditions for fruity sugars to develop. To learn more about what makes a Colorado Peach so special, check out this article about Colorado Western Slope Peaches.
Recipe for Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Peach Bourbon Sauce
I hope you give this pork medallions recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe. And if you have a favorite recipe using peach and bourbon, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Pork Tenderloin Sides
For this recipe, I served the pork tenderloin medallions with Summer squash that had simply been sliced and grilled in my stove-top grill pan. Here are some more ideas for side dishes for this recipe.
- Company Lettuce Salad: Crispy crunchy Chow Mein Noodles are just the beginning to what makes this lettuce salad so special. A salad so wonderful in flavor and texture that you’ll want to save this one for company.
- Creamy Cheesy Tangy Cauliflower: Baked cauliflower with a topping of mayo, mustard and cheese. Quick, easy and tangy in flavor, in a creamy cheesy sort of way.
- Zucchini and Potato Skillet: Sauteed zucchini and potatoes. Simply flavored with thyme this Zucchini and Potato Skillet is a beautiful Summer side dish.
- Green Vegetable Medley: All you need is some olive oil, a leek, asparagus, a handful of fresh spinach and some frozen peas. Some salt and pepper and you’ve got elegance that took all of fifteen minutes to make.
More Pork Tenderloin Recipes
- Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
- The Best Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- Coriander Crusted Pork Tenderloin
- Pork Tenderloin with Mango Chutney
And don’t miss my Pork Category. You’ll find lots of delicious recipes including the most popular on my site for Pickled Pineapple for Pork Medallions.
Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon-Peach Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 1/8 Cup Flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches 3 – 4 medium peaches, peeled and cut into wide slices
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Dust pork tenderloin with flour and then salt and pepper. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high, and add. Add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the pork to skillet and brown on two sides.
- Remove the pork to a sheet pan and move to oven. Cook until a thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 140°. This will take about 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.
- Add peaches to skillet; cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add bourbon, 1 vinegar, an honey. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; add butter, swirling until melted.
- Slice tenderloin 1 inch thick. Place on plates and drizzle with the peach bourbon glaze.
Notes
Nutrition
Pork Tenderloin Medallions … They’re What’s for Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Yum I added a teaspoon of brown sugar….A WOW
Peaches and bourbon play so nicely together, don’t they? And both are great with pork. Really like this recipe — easy, quick, tasty. Perfect!
Looks like a great use of those fresh peaches. I believe we would enjoy this.
Thanks Larry – it’s a keeper recipe. We loved it.