Pork Tenderloin with a Grape Wine Sauce

This recipe came about the way many of my ideas do: through the need for a meal with what is on hand.  In this case I was not even in my own kitchen.   My family got together with some wonderful friends after their long getaway, and we needed dinner.  Pork tenderloins, grapes, and wine were available.  I had made something similar before.  They had a wonderful rub from the CIA grilling cookbook available too(recipe to follow).

• 2 pork tenderloins (This fed 5 people comfortably)
•  3 tablespoons Albuquerque Dry Rub plus a tablespoon of flour mixed
•  1 shallot minced
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 cups seedless grapes
• pinch of rosemary and thyme
• 1 cup of red wine (Cabernet or Zinfandel{nothing pink please!})
• 2 tablespoons of wine

1. Dry pork with a paper towel, and rub with rub plus flour(you can do this a hour ahead)
2. Turn on oven to 350 degrees
3. In a 3-4 qt oven safe saute pan heat up three tablespoons of canola oil over med-high heat
4. When pan is hot, sear pork on all sides for a few minutes but one
5. When flipping last side add shallots, grapes,  and garlic
6. When the last side is browned, remove pork and deglaze pan with wine, scrap with a wooden spoon and place pork back top of grapes
7. Place pan in oven and roast until an instant read thermometer reads 140° between 10 and 20 minutes
8. Meanwhile setup an cutting board and make sure you have a sharp knife at your disposal, and turn on burner to med heat
9. Remove  pan and place on burner removing pork and placing on cutting board to rest(Don’t worry I am giving you something else to do so you can’t cut in the pork too early)
10. Add herbs to sauce , smash some of your grapes with wood spoon,  add butter and reduce till sauce is thicker stirring pretty constantly
11. Slice pork in small medallions and serve sauce over them

ALBUQUERQUE DRY RUB

“This makes enough rub to flavor about 3 pounds of meat, fish, or poultry. You can make the chili powder or purchase a prepared chili blend. We suggest starting with whole spices for the best flavor, but you can always substitute ground spices if you prefer.”

1 tablespoon coriander seeds (or 1 teaspoons ground coriander)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds (or 2 teaspoons ground cumin)
6 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns (or 1 teaspoon ground pepper)

Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and toast, swirling the pan constantly, until the seeds give off a rich aroma, about 1 minute. Immediately transfer to a plate and let the seeds cool.

Transfer the seeds to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Add chili powder, onion and garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Grind spices to an even texture.

The rub is ready to use now, or you can transfer it to a jar, cover tightly, and keep in a cool, dry cupboard or pantry for up to 1 month.

Makes 1/2 cup dry rub
Source: Grilling by Culinary Institute of America