Cuban Style Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Orange Honey Soy Glaze and Whipped Sweet Potatoes
An easy, healthy and flavorful family favorite! Cook this one inside in the oven, grill it outside or smoke it! We’ve done it many ways and it’s fantastic!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
For pork:
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp orange zest
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup lightly packed mint leaves, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp minced oregano (2 tsp dried oregano)
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
Kosher salt and pepper
3 and 1/2 pounds boneless tenderloin
For orange honey soy glaze:
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T minced garlic
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water for slurry
Directions:
For pork tenderloin:
In a food processor, add the orange juice, cilantro, mint and minced garlic cloves and pulse until everything is finely chopped. Add this mixture to a ziplock bag, along with the rest of the oil, zest, lime juice, oregano, paprika and cumin. Work mixture until well combined. Add pork tenderloin.
Place the bag in a baking dish, and put it in the fridge overnight, or several hours. Turn occasionally to ensure pork is well marinated.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a wire rack (I used a cooling rack) over a rimmed baking sheet. Remove pork from ziploc bag, shaking off excess marinade and discarding marinade. Season well with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet or cast iron stock pot to high. Add pork to hot pan and sear until lightly browned, roughly 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and place on baking sheet. Place in preheated oven, roasting for 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned.
Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and roast for another hour or until internal temp reads 150. Remove from oven and let sit 20 minutes, covered with foil. Slice on a diagonal and serve with glaze.23m
For orange honey soy glaze:
Combine honey through orange juice in a small saucepan. Heat on high and cook until mixture begins to bubble. Once bubbling, turn down to low. In a small ramekin, combine cornstarch and water, mixing with a fork to make a slurry. Add slurry to saucepan and whisk until thickened. Turn pan off and keep lid on. Allow to rest until serving.
Whipped Sweet Potatoes:
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1” squares
1 block cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
Directions:
Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add diced sweet potatoes. Cook for 15-18 minutes or until fork tender. Remove potatoes from heat and drain.
Place cooked sweet potatoes in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients (cream cheese through milk). Using a potato masher, slowly work mixture together, mashing and combining. Continue until all ingredients are well combined and few chunks remain. To achieve a smooth texture, finish off in a Cuisinart mixer or with a hand mixer. Once done, cover and set aside until ready to eat.