Pork Tenderloin with Honey Garlic Sauce

Pork Tenderloin with Honey Garlic Sauce - made May 3, 2022 adapted from Recipe Tin Eats

2 pork tenderloins, 1 pound each (I used 3 thick cut pork chops)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup honey

1. Set instant pot to saute setting and let heat. Add olive oil.
2. In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over pork tenderloins.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together cider vinegar, soy sauce and honey; set aside.
4. Add pork to instant pot and sear until golden all over. When pork is almost seared, push to the side, add garlic and cook until golden. Pour sauce over pork, turning pork to coat with sauce. Cover with lid and set in sealing position. Set for 20 minutes on manual setting. Let natural release for 10-15 minutes then release remaining pressure.
5. Transfer pork to serving platter, cover loosely with foil and let rest 5 minutes. Put instant pot back on saute setting.
6. Meanwhile, transfer 1/4 cup of the sauce and whisk in 2 tablespoons cornstarch to make a slurry. Add slurry back to sauce in instant pot and stir until thickened and bubbling, 3-4 minutes. Add back in pork tenderloins and coat completely with sauce. Serve warm.

You know I like to throw in a random "real food" recipe onto my blog once in awhile to keep y'all guessing "does she really only eat sugar?" "can she actually cook?" Maybe, sometimes, it depends.

Of course, cooking not being my forte, I felt free to completely disregard the original title of this recipe and used thick cut pork chops instead. Because I had three leftover from the Costco pack I bought weeks ago and something had to be done with them. I also completely disregarded the original directions to bake these in the oven and instead, I seared them in my instant pot then instant pot'd them for 20 minutes. Oh and I also doubled the rub recipe because I needed to use my Penzey's spices at a faster clip. In other words, the only thing I stayed faithful to in this recipe is I used pork, lol.

Despite all that, these turned out pretty well. Nice flavor and the 20 minutes in the instant pot ensured these thick cut pork chops were chewy but tender without giving my jaws a workout to eat. It's the kind of dish I wish I had rice to eat it with so it could sop up the delicious sauce but alas, I ran out of rice a couple of months ago and haven't replenished my supply so I inadvertently went high protein/low carb on this one.