Pork Tenderloin with Pickapeppa Glaze and Pineapple Salsa

If you’re not familiar with Pickapeppa Sauce, you’re in for a treat. Affectionately referred to as Jamaican ketchup, Pickapeppa is a tangy and mildly spicy concoction–from where else? Jamaica!–that we drizzle on all sorts of things here, from steak to jambalaya. It’s also excellent as a marinade, a grilling sauce, and is widely popular poured over a block of cream cheese and eaten with crackers. You can find it with the BBQ sauces and such in the grocery store. It looks like this . . .

. . . and is perfect on one of my favorite blank canvases, a pork tenderloin.

We’ve discussed the many virtues of pork tenderloin here before, and this recipe plays off of them beautifully. Pork Tenderloin with Pickapeppa Glaze is easy, it comes together quickly, and you have no waste. Any leftovers make terrific tacos or sliders the next day. And even with the lively flavor of Pickapeppa, the recipe is still kid-friendly.

The recipe below adds a little mango chutney to the mix. It’s not 100% necessary, but I think the texture of the glaze is better with it–the chutney ups the viscosity so you can get more Pickapeppa Sauce to cling to the meat. It also adds a little more sugar to caramelize and create a tangy exterior crust. I use Crosse & Blackwell Major Grey’s Chutney, which you ought to be able to find in any large grocery store near the steak sauces or pickles. If you don’t have mango chutney, you can sub something like pepper jelly, or just leave it out.

If you have time, it’s worthwhile to make this super easy pineapple salsa with fresh pineapple. An average-sized pineapple will make about a quart of salsa, but if you’d rather cut the salsa recipe in half and leave the rest of the pineapple plain, go for it. That’s Princess Persnickety’s standing request, and your kids might prefer that, too. I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that the picture at the top includes baked sweet potatoes, scooped out of their skins, and fork-mashed with lime juice, butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

Leftovers–assuming there are any–are a lunchbox favorite and don’t last long around here. Little sandwiches on Haiwaiian rolls with more Pickapeppa Sauce and pickles, or soft tacos with the dregs of pineapple salsa, wipe them out quickly.

Easy, nutritious, economical, and fantastically good. Is there anything better?

LOVE!

Pork Tenderloin with Pickapeppa Glaze

¼ cup Pickapeppa Sauce
2 t. mango chutney
2 pork tenderloins

Preheat oven to 400°. Cover a sheet pan with foil.

Mix Pickapeppa and chutney together. Brush all over each tenderloin. Quickly sear each tenderloin in a skillet over medium high heat, and place on the sheet pan.

Roast for 20 minutes–basting once more about halfway through–or until a meat thermometer registers 140°. Remove from the pan and tent with foil for at least 5 minutes. Slice and serve with more Pickapeppa and pineapple salsa.

Pineapple Salsa

1 ripe pineapple, rind cut off, core removed, then cut in small pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, in small dice
1 small fresh jalapeno, in matchstick dice
2 scallions, sliced
Zest and juice of a lime

Mix all ingredients. Serve chilled or at room temperature.