Milk Street Magazine had an interesting recipe in their May-June issue: Caramelized Pork with Orange and Sage, an Argentinean take on pork tenderloin. It sounded delicious, and was pretty healthy with the exception of a whole bunch of turbinado sugar. I wondered if I could lighten it up. Replacing sugar can be tricky – some sugar substitutes can leave a bitter aftertaste, some lose sweetness when cooked, and some can change consistency. I’ve had good luck with Splenda® Brown Sugar Blend. It has some real sugar in it, but the calories (or Weight Watchers Smart Points) are much lower, so I gave it a try.
Caramelized Pork with Orange and Sage
1 Pork Tenderloin (16-18 oz.)
Salt and black pepper
2 T. Splenda® Brown Sugar Blend
2 – 1 inch strips of orange zest, chopped plus
¼ c. of the juice of the orange
1 T. fresh sage, chopped and divided
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 T. olive oil
1 T. cider vinegar
Heat the broiler to high and set rack 6” from broiler unit.
Pat the pork dry and cut into 4 pieces. Wrap in plastic and pound to a 1” thickness. Season pork with salt and pepper on both sides.
Mix the Splenda® Brown Sugar Blend, orange zest, ½ of the sage and the cayenne in a small bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a broiler safe frying pan until the oil starts to smoke. Add the pork pieces to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes until the pork is deeply browned. Remove the pork to a plate, browned side up, reserving the skillet.
Press the sugar mix onto the tops of the browned pork. Return the pork to the frying pan, sugar side up. Place under the broiler and broil until the pork reaches 135 degrees in the center and the sugar mixture is brown, about 5-7 minutes, rotating the plan halfway through.
Remove the pork to a plate but do not tent as the crust on the pork will lose its crispness.
Heat the frying pan on medium high heat and add the remaining sage and the orange juice, scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pan, stirring until the sauce is syrupy, about 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and taste for seasoning.
Serve the pork atop the sauce.
Serves 2-3
9 Weight Watchers points per serving if serving 2, 6 points if serving 3.
I never tried the original recipe that called for ¼ cup of turbinado sugar, so I don’t have a true comparison, but this was delicious. And it saved 21 points in the total recipe by using Splenda® instead of turbinado sugar.
Enjoy!
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