It's Good Though…

Yield: 3 to4 Servings

Scott Nowell

November 1996: This may be a variation on a Jacques Pepin recipe that I saw on PBS. It’s been so long I really don’t remember, so let’s just say it’s my original. The idea for using Juniper Berries comes from a sauce I was served on venison at Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center in NYC in the mid 80’s.

• ½cup milk
• 2TBS honey
• 1½oz gin
• 12juniper berries crushed lightly
• 1½lb whole pork tenderloins, trimmed with all silver-skin removed
• 2TBS olive oil

Cut pork into slices about 3 inches thick. Stand slices one at a time on end in a quart freezer bag and pound with mallet or bottom of pan until about 1/2 inch thick. Move each pounded slice into a gallon freezer bag.

Pour milk into non metallic dish. Mix honey into milk. Honey will mix better if heated for a few seconds in microwave. Mix honey and milk until honey is dissolved. Add gin and crushed juniper berries. Pore milk mixture into pork and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Heat oil in sauté pan over medium high heat until oil is quite hot. It will shimmer in the pan. Drain pork and pat dry with paper towels. Sauté pork medallions at high heat until browned on one side. Turn and cook other side. Pork should be cooked to at least 140°F. Honey will caramelize on pork and form very dark spots.

Serve alone or with accompanying sauce.

Brown Sauce

• 1TBS butter or oil
• 2TBS flour
• 12oz water
• 1tsp heaping Better Than Bouillon Beef
• 1tsp heaping Better Than Bouillon Chicken
• 1½oz gin
• 12juniper berries crushed lightly

Add butter or oil to pan after removing pork. Melt over medium high heat, scraping bits from bottom of pan. Add flour and cook for a few minutes to form a light brown roux. Add water and BTB and whisk to mix. When sauce boils, lower temperature and simmer for a few minutes, stirring with whisk often. Add some cornstarch slurry to thicken if desired. Remove from heat and stir in a TBS of soft butter.

Serve with pork.