Directions
Isn’t it nice when the stars align?
It was Monday morning, and I was planning out my busy day and my busier after school shuttle bus schedule, when I realized that I needed to figure out what we were going to squeeze in for dinner. I had some pork tenderloin on hand, and I started Googling to find something I could whip up with ingredients already stocked in my pantry and fridge, and possibly utilize my slow cooker, and this is what I ran across. When dinner rolled around, my family was pretty excited that the stars aligned in this way. It was delicious, and super simple to put together. The original recipe comes from a healthy meal planning site called The Diabetic Skillet.
I started by browning my pork tenderloin on the stove top. I only used one tenderloin, because it was just the four of us, but if you are serving a larger group, this recipe could easily be doubled.
As the pork was browning, I mixed together my sauce. It wasn’t much, but it sure did pack a punch of flavor. It was simply some garlic powder, black pepper, a dab of Hoisin sauce, some honey, Balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon of orange marmalade.
Once the pork was browned on all sides, I moved it to my slow cooker. Then, I added the sauce mixture to the pan on the stove top and let it cook for just a minute, until the marmalade and honey had melted a bit. Then, I poured it over the top of my tenderloin in the slow cooker.
That’s it!
I popped the lid on the slow cooker and let it cook on HIGH for one hour, and then LOW for three more hours.
About ten minutes before I was ready to serve it, I stirred a slurry of cornstarch and water into the sauce, so it had a chance to thicken up a bit into a wonderful, sweet, tangy glaze for the pork.
I removed the pork from the slow cooker when it was time to eat, and it was so tender that it just about fell apart.
I served the pork alongside some steamed Jasmine rice, and some roasted sugar snap peas (come back Thursday for this recipe!). I drizzled some of the thick, sweet glaze over the top, and my family gobbled up every last bite.
SLOW COOKER PORK TENDERLOIN WITH ORANGE HOISIN GLAZE
Adapted from The Diabetic Skillet
- 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
- 1 Tbsp. orange marmalade
- 2 tsp. honey
- 2 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- Spray the inside of a slow cooker with nonstick spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil.
- Brown the pork tenderloin on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, in the hot pan.
- Mix the remaining ingredients, except for the corn starch, together in a small bowl.
- Remove the pork from the pan and place it in the prepared slow cooker.
- Pour the sauce ingredients into the hot pan and stir, until the honey and marmalade have melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.
- Pour the sauce over the pork tenderloin in the slow cooker.
- Cover, and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Then, turn the heat to LOW and cook for 3 more hours.
- About 10 minutes before serving, mix cornstarch with 2 tsp. water. Pour the slurry into the sauce and stir in. This will help thicken the glaze.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and slice.
- Serve the pork with steamed rice and drizzle with the glaze.
- ENJOY!
