Pork Tenderloin with Ginger-Maple Sauce

I can't remember how I stumbled upon this recipe. I think I was looking for a way to use pork tenderloin since I love it so much. I though to myself if 31 people rated this a 5 out of 5, then I must be pretty stupid to pass this recipe up.  I'm so glad I didn't! This was AWESOME. I was a little worried--2 tablespoons of ginger sounds like A LOT of ginger for my taste, but the maple syrup balanced it nicely.  I also bought real maple syrup instead of using that light stuff which is all high fructose corn syrup.  

I didn't make any changes to the recipe except that I used my new calphalon stainless steel chef's pan and it cooked the pork in about half of the time which is amazing. Thanks to Debbie L. if you are reading this! Thanks also to Kirsten O. for  providing me with a great backdrop for the pork (new plate).  

Besides the fact that the pork had to marinate in the rub for 30 minutes, brown for 6 and cook for 30, it felt like it took less time. Be sure to start the sauce when you put the pork in the oven--I find that 90% of the CL recipes that call for a reduction take longer than the estimated time (could just be my stove top).

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  chili powder
• 1 1/4  teaspoons  salt
• 1  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2  pounds  pork tenderloin, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 2  tablespoons  bottled ground fresh ginger
• 1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2  cup  maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; rub pork with spice mixture. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add pork. Cook 6 minutes; brown on all sides. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 155°. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
While pork bakes, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add ginger, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in broth and syrup, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring broth mixture to a boil; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 10 minutes). Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices; serve with sauce.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 263 (28% from fat)

Fat: 8.2g (sat 3.9g,mono 2.8g,poly 0.6g)

Protein: 25g

Carbohydrate: 21.7g

Fiber: 1.1g

Cholesterol: 78mg

Iron: 2mg

Sodium: 663mg

Calcium: 39mg