Grilled Bourbon and Cherry Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Butter

I’ve had this pork dish on my list to make for quite a while and it finally made it to the top.  The recipe for Grilled Bourbon and Cherry Pork Chops comes from famous pitmaster and Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q chef Chris Lilly by way of the “Nibble Me This”  blog.  As you can see, the recipe is for pork chops but when I checked the freezer, I couldn’t find those that I thought I had but I did find a couple of pork tenderloins and used them instead.  I increased the sauce ingredients by 50% and didn’t dunk the meat in it while cooking because I wanted plenty to spoon over the meat after slicing and I used a gas grill.

Grilled Bourbon and Cherry Pork Tenderloin – Adapted from Nibble Me This

Ingredients:

3/8 cup bourbon or whiskey

3/8 cup dried cherries, diced

3 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp Honey

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp olive oil

1½ Tbsp fresh thyme

2 ea pork tenderloins

S&P to taste

Directions:

Whisk the first seven ingredients in a small sauce pan.

Preheat you grill to medium heat.

Brush the tenderloins with oil and season with S&P. 

When the grill is ready place the meat on the grill over direct heat and grill for about five minutes.

Flip the meat and cook to an internal temperature of 138F (it will go to 142F while resting and still be a little pink inside).

After a five-minute rest, slice the meat in half inch pieces and spoon the sauce over it generously.

Plate and add more sauce as desired.

I thought a good side dish would be Pam’s recently posted recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Butter on her “For The Love Of Cooking.”  I followed the recipe as written except for one minor change shown below.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil divided

2 sweet potatoes scrubbed & halved lengthwise.

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

2 tbsp butter melted

1 clove of garlic finely minced

1 tsp fresh parsley finely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Brush one tablespoon of olive oil evenly on a small baking sheet.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then use the tip of a knife to score cut sides in a ¼-inch crosshatch pattern. (Pam is a better man than me to score a raw sweet potato 😊so I did it when they were done cooking).

Toss potatoes in remaining olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Arrange flesh side-down on prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, make the garlic butter by combining the melted butter, garlic, parsley, and cayenne together in a small dish; keep warm.  (I forgot the parsley).

Carefully flip the sweet potatoes over with a spatula and brush the garlic butter evenly over the sweet potatoes. Return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top of each potato half, if desired. Serve and enjoy.

My plate:

The Verdict:

We all thought both dishes were very good, they went well together, and we would make them again.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/7/24 meal date