If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I’m a fan of Bobby Flay and his Vegas restaurant, Mesa. My first meal at Mesa was Bobby’s Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin in a Bourbon Chile Sauce. I made this last year for Christmas and recently for a birthday celebration for friends. I missed a great photo opportunity to take a picture of the whole tenderloin, which was nicely charred and had a beautiful color from the deep red and brownish-orange hues from all of the warm spices.
Here’s the recipe:
Spiced Rubbed Pork
2 pork tenderloins (about 1 ½ - 2 pounds each)
3 tablespoons paprika (I used sweet, but smoked paprika would be good too!)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine all of the spices, then coat the pork with the rub. Heat the grill to approximately 400 degrees. Cook the pork on indirect heat for approximately 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. The pork is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Take the pork off the grill and let it rest, covered with foil, for about 5 minutes.
Bourbon Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped 2 cups bourbon
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed (about ¾ of a can)
¼ cup brown sugar
8 whole black peppercorns
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
Kosher salt, to taste
Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan, over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the bourbon and let it reduce to a few tablespoons. This takes awhile, so don’t get anxious.
Add the chicken stock, apple juice concentrate, brown sugar, peppercorns and chipotle until the mixture if reduced by half. Again, this does take some time so just keep stirring and be patient!
Strain the sauce and then add it back to the pan. Continue to cook the sauce until it gets to a “sauce consistency.” I’m never sure what that means, so I cook it until it is thicker than a broth but not thick like a paste. Bobby Flay says to add another 2 tablespoons of Bourbon, which I usually forget, but I do tend to add about a tablespoon of butter, which makes the sauce nice and shiny.
Also, I start the sauce when the grill is heating up. That gives me about 70 minutes of total time to make the sauce. Don’t worry if the sauce is ready before the pork, just lower the heat, or shut if off completely, then bring it back up to temperature as soon as you take the pork off the grill.
Accoutrements
I served this with risotto and roasted asparagus (just a little salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon). If I remember correctly, it was served with sweet potato mash at Mesa. I’m not a sweet potato fan, but it does seem like sweet potatoes would be great with this (maybe with a maple bourbon glaze?)! Any kind of roasted veggie would also be awesome!
At Mesa, we drank Fiddlestix Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight from Fiddlehead Cellars. The last time I made this meal, I served it with Decoy Cabernet Sauvignons and it was perfect!
Bon Appetit!