Pork Loins with Chanterelle Cream Sauce
Aloha from my perch on a brilliantly sunny February day.
So, o.k. I missed an opportunity to discuss any Valentines ideas or recipes. My bad and I'm sorry, but February in SW Colorado should be chilly and not pushing 60 degree temps! In fact at the moment I am basking in the sun getting my early suntan for the upcoming summer.
As I had stated in an earlier blog, I am not a baker, but rather a hack chef and with that I will let you in on a new recipe that I thought up trying to bring a new dish to the table. I found that the local organic butcher had pork loin steaks that were too good to pass up. The loins had to be 1.5 inches thick and had good marbling throughout the entire slab. So I got two for the express purpose of making a delicious new dish for Valentines dinner. Unfortunately I got chocolates for my special guy and all I got was a lousy cold! But I digress as usual on a different track.
Anyway, I applied a mixture of Lelani’s Citrus Lavender rub and Citrus Habanero Olive Oil prior to placing into a large zip-loc bag with a tropical fruit juice to marinade for a couple of days. Juice or wine marinades work well with pork, chicken and fish as it tenderizes and enhances the flavors of the rub and meat.
Prior to pan frying, I applied another sprinkling of the rub and set aside while heating up a large cast iron pan. As the pan is heating up, add fresh chopped shallots and crushed garlic to sauté till the shallots were tender and transparent. Remove and set aside the shallot mix for later use. Increase the heat and when ready add loins and sear both sides. Searing the outer layer of meat will seal in moisture and flavor. Once seared, reduce heat to low and cover pan and cook to medium well.
One piece of advice is not to over cook pork. This will cause the meat to become very dry and chewy (like shoe leather). It is best to under cook meat by removing and setting aside to allow the loins to finish cooking and to rest. This will keep the juices inside for great moisture and better flavor.
I reserved the marinade to use with mushrooms and shallot mix to make a cream sauce to top each loin. While the meat is cooking I put the marinade in a shallow bowl and added fresh sliced Chanterelle Mushrooms to absorb the liquid. Although I used Chanterelles, you can use most any mushrooms other than Shitaki as they tend to have their own distinct flavor which may not blend well with fruit juices. Let mushrooms soak for at least 10 minutes.
When the pork was finished and set aside, add mushrooms and marinade to the shallot mixture and sauté on low until tender, about 5 minutes. Add plain yogurt and Lelani's Citrus Lavender Rub to mix and blend well. Cook for 2 minutes and serve over pork loins as a cream sauce. To make a complete and healthy meal, I added Forbidden rice and fresh snow peas.
Below is my recipe for Citrus Lavender Pork Steaks - Enjoy!
Mahalo!
Pork Loins with Chanterelle Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
2 large pork loins (1-1/2 lbs)
1-1/2 c. tropical fruit juice
1 large shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/4 c. flavored olive oil (Citrus works best)
2 tbsp. Lelani's Citrus Lavender Rub
Directions:
Marinade pork loins in a large zip-loc bag with tropical juice for at least 2 hours. When ready to cook, remove steaks from bag and massage a bit of flavored oil and Lelani's Citrus Lavender Rub to steaks (1 tsp per side). Set aside.
Place sliced mushrooms into juice marinade and set aside.
After marinating steaks, heat skillet with some olive oil and sauté shallots, garlic until tender. When mixture is tender and transparent, remove and set aside for later use. Increase heat to high. Sear both sides of loins and then reduce heat to low and finish cooking to medium well (about 30 min). When finished, remove and set aside under foil to finish cooking.
Reduce heat to low and add sautéed mix to pan. Add mushrooms, juice and 1/2 tbsp Citrus Lavender Rub. Blend well over low heat for 2 minutes. Add plain yogurt to mixture and stir well. Cook an additional 2 minutes or until warm. Spoon cream sauce over pork steaks and serve.