This pork tenderloin with blackberry sauce is easy and tasty. Easy enough for during the week and elegant enough for company. Whether frozen, dried, or fruit or fresh, pork and fruit compliment each other beautifully. Why not blackberries? It works.
Pork and fruit is a classic combination. Think of prosciutto and melon, ham and pineapple, pork roast with apples, peaches, figs or cranberries. Since blackberries were everywhere at the markets, I used fresh for this recipe but frozen works too. Between the berries and a jar of good blackberry jam in the pantry, and a friend who said something about making a blackberry sauce, it all came together.
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Pork Tenderloin was the Answer
I’d been making this new blackberry wine sauce for a few weeks with great results and couldn’t wait for someone else to try it out. Then I got an emergency cooking email from a friend. She needed a menu for a dinner party, fast. Not too difficult, had to be delicious for her special guests.
I had my test buddy. I recommended pork tenderloin because it is easy and fast to prepare and lends itself to a variety of fabulous sauces.
Easy Blackberry Sauce
This sauce is a gorgeous deep purple with a chunky texture from the berries. The flavor is not too sweet, tempered by shallots, garlic, sweet vinegar and red wine. Its easy to make and leftovers will last a week in the refrigerator.
Try the sauce with salmon, duck, even ice cream and yogurt. It's that good.
Ingredient Tips
For the pork: organic or pastured pork is best if you can get it. They are usually about 1 pound each.
For the berries: fresh or frozen blackberries work. I used fresh.
For the fruit spread: I use a low sugar jam from Mountain Fruit in Chico, California. Their jams explode with pure fruit flavor. Find them at Whole Foods and many other grocers or online. Choose a dark berry flavor such as boysenberry (a hybrid black berry), blackberry, blueberry or even olallieberry.
For the vinegar: use either Balsamic or splurge on Blueberry Balsamic. The two options I've found are Vom Fass (pricey) or Kouzini (very reasonable on Amazon). There are others online as well.
Other fruit options would be a dark cherry or even a fig. See what your local store has.
A Tip for Cooking With Wine
Instead of opening a big bottle to cook with I use the mini airplane sized bottles. They are available at the grocery store in 4 packs for an inexpensive price. You can open just what you need. I used Merlot in this recipe (two bottles), but other dry red wine like a cabernet will work fine.
Instructions
Make your sauce first, then trim the pork tenderloin. For tips on trimming, see photos in this post. You want to remove what looks like packaging tape. It does not melt like fat and is not nice to eat.
Once trimmed, rub with a little olive oil then season. Sear on the stove top in a saute pan or fry pan, then finish in a hot oven for just a few minutes (8-10 depending on your oven). They don't take long to roast.
Serving
Allow the pork to stand for a few minutes, then slice and serve. If you are serving family style on a platter, add a little sauce to the platter for color and the rest on the side.
Party Success Report
The centerpiece of Christine’s menu was this pork tenderloin with blackberry wine sauce. She emailed me after the party and told me two guests admitted they never really ate pork tenderloin, only to happily enjoy second helpings. Now that’s what I like to hear!
More Pork Tenderloin Recipes
For another terrific pork tenderloin and sauce dish try this recipe with a maple rosemary glaze.
📖 Recipe
Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Wine Sauce
Equipment
- Saute or fry pan
- Rimmed baking sheet for roasting
- Small pan for the sauce
- Parchment or foil to line the baking sheet
Ingredients
Pork
- 1 ½-2 pounds pork tenderloin preferably organic or pastured
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided use
- ¼ teaspoon Sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
Sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot 1 medium shallot
- 2 small garlic cloves chopped fine
- 2 cups dry red wine I use two mini airline bottles
- 6-8 ounces blackberries fresh or frozen, thawed
- 4 tablespoons blackberry fruit spread
- 1½ tablespoons Balsamic or blueberry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon warm water
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot starch for optional thickening
Instructions
Trim the Pork
- Remove pork tenderloin from the refrigerator and unwrap about 45 minutes ahead of time to get the chill off. With a thin, sharp knife, slice off any silverskin (looks like packaging tape). Set aside until ready to sear and roast.
Make the Sauce
- Start the sauce. Place a small saucepan (2 quart) over medium-low heat and add 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil. When oil is warm, add the shallot and cook until it’s a light golden color, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil. Reduce wine by half, to about one cup.
- Turn heat to low and add the blackberries, jam and vinegar. Stir and cook a few minutes until the sauce is thickened, breaking up the blackberries with a fork. If you want the sauce thicker, mix the arrowroot starch and warm water together in a small bowl and stir into the sauce. Turn heat off and allow the sauce to hold while you cook the pork tenderloin.
Sear and Roast Pork
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment. Drizzle pork with about a teaspoon of olive oil (the rest is for the pan)and roll the pork around to coat it, then sprinkle salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Heat a skillet or sauté pan over medium heat until hot. Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan, about ½ a tablespoon, and sear the pork until golden brown on all sides. Place the pork on the covered baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast until the pork reaches 145°F degrees internally, about 8-10 minutes. Oven timing varies. Measure it with a digital thermometer.
Serve
- Allow the pork to stand for a few minutes to absorb the juices. Then slice and offer the blackberry wine sauce on the side.
Nutrition
updated 3-25-2020
Amy says
It is official - this has replaced my families favorite dish! And they are requesting it regularly. Thanks so much Sally!
Madonna says
This sounds so good. Another to add to the list.
FYI - I think you may have a broken link regarding trimming pork tenderloin. Not sure if it is from your end or mine.
Sally says
All fixed Madonnna. Thanks!
Shut Up & Cook says
Beautiful, beautiful as per usual!
Ann Mah says
Oh, the COLOR of that sauce is gorgeous!