Prep Time  20minutes
Cook Time  35minutes
Total Time  55minutes

Pork Tenderloin Marsala

A few years ago, I made a Pork Tenderloin Marsala for the first time, for the simple reason that I didn’t have any chicken handy.  And while Chicken Marsala may be more the common, the wine flavored mushroom sauce goes really well with a perfectly cooked piece of pork tenderloin.  For this recipe, I’ll show you how to make pork medallions with the tenderloin, sear them off, and then create this wonderful marsala sauce.  It’s simple, it’s elegant, and it’s delicious. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Recipe Overview and Keys to Success

To make the best Pork Tenderloin Marsala, just make sure to the following:

  1. I like to cook the mushrooms for the sauce until they are very well done.  That gives them a firm texture, and greater flavor.  Start cooking them first as they’ll take longer to cook than any other component
  2. A lean meat like pork dries out very quickly.  So use high heat to sear off the outside, and cook them for just a few minutes preside, leaving the center medium to medium well
  3. Use the marsala wine to deglaze the pan to get all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan, and to evaporate the alcohol in the wine
  4. Finally, taste, taste and taste.  As your finishing the dish, make sure to taste the sauce frequently, and adjust the seasoning as you go…don’t just assume you got it right.
Ingredients
  • 1 pork tenderloin
  • 2 cups crimini (or your favorite) mushrooms
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 large shallot minced
  • 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
  • ½ cup marsala wine
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Olive oil
Pork Tenderloin Marsala
  • Chop the mushrooms into approximately ¼ inch pieces
  • Pre-heated a sauté pan over medium heat, and coat the bottom with a olive oil; add the mushrooms and large pinch of salt
  • Toss the mushrooms, and continue to cook over medium heat until most of the moisture in the mushrooms is evaporated, and the mushrooms are lightly browned (you can do this ahead of time)
  • Once cooked, remove from the pan
  • While the mushrooms cook, cut the pork tenderloin into medallions, approximately 2 inches thick, and allow them to come up to room temperature
  • Liberally season the pork with salt and pepper on both sides
  • Turn your oven on to 200 degrees
  • After removing the mushrooms from the pan, reheat the pan to high heat, coat with olive oil and add the pork medallions
  • Sear on one side, without moving or flipping the pork, so it gets a good sear for 2 – 3 minutes
  • Turn the pork medallions over to cook for another 2 – 3 minutes depending on thickness.   You want them to be cooked just to medium. 
  • Remove the pork to a hold plate and move into the 200 degree oven to keep warm
  • Add the garlic, shallot, and rosemary to the pan, along with more olive oil if needed
  • Cook for 30 seconds to a minute to just soften the shallot, then deglaze the pan with the marsala wine; turn the heat to high
  • Allow the wine to reduce over high heat by half
  • Add the chicken stock, and again reduce by half
  • Add the mushrooms back to the sauce and bring everything up to a light simmer
  • Turn off the heat, add but the butter, and stir it in to thicken the sauce
  • Either add the pork medallions back to the pan (a great option if you didn’t hold them in the oven, and they are not room temperature), or serve with the sauce spooned over the top
Wine Recommendation

Frankly there are a lot of wines that will go really will this dish.  I’ve got both a red and a white for you.  My personal choice would be a Point Noir from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma.  These pinots are typically bigger, spicyer than average and will go really well with the sweeter sauce.  For the white lovers, I’d got with a viognier.  Similar to Chardonnay, viognier has good body and structure that will help stand up to the pork marsala, but without the oak that may clash with the wine sauce.  Enjoy!   

Pork Tenderloin Marsala

Comments (1 )

Reply
Mike C
February 27th, 2014 - 11:25am
Thank you so much for this. Eventually found a local supplier of Marsala Wine and tried this recipe after watching the video as well. Turned out 100% perfect with a beautiful subtle taste. Nothing added, nothing taken away. Thank you for taking the trouble of sharing.

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