Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Apple Sauce
Use your electric pressure cooker to make Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Apple Sauce for a quick and easy weeknight meal your family will really enjoy. The slightly-sweet sauce perfectly compliments the juicy pork tenderloin medallions.
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 10 minutesminutes
Time needed for Inst Pot to fully pressurize: 5 minutesminutes
2pork tenderloins, approx. 1 lb. eachthese come 2 per package typically
1tsp.your favorite steak seasoning, such as Montreal Steak Seasoning
1-2Tbs.olive oil
1Tbs.all-purpose flour
1cupapple or cranberry juice
2Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 slices (may leave the peeling on the apples, if preferred)
1/3cupdried cranberries
2Tbs.packed dark brown sugar
1tsp.kosher salt
1Tbs.unsalted butter
Instructions
Remove the pork tenderloin from refrigeration and unpackage; let the pork rest for 30 minutes on the counter to remove some of the chill from the meat. Season each pork tenderloin with the steak seasoning on all sides.
Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add 1 Tbs. oil; when the oil is hot and sizzling, add a pork tenderloin, quickly browning it on all sides. Transfer the tenderloin to a plate and reserve; repeat with the second pork tenderloin
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the flour to the Instant Pot. Using the sauté setting, cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Whisk in apple juice, cranberries, brown sugar, and salt, stirring to bring up any browned particles from the bottom of the pot. Add the sliced apples to the pot, then add both of the pork tenderloins, placing them right on top of everything.
Lock the Instant Pot lid into place; choose the High Pressure setting for two minutes (yes, TWO minutes, that's it), bringing the Instant Pot up to full pressure. When the timer sounds, perform a natural release for 8 minutes. (Just walk away and let the pressure come down on it's own for this 8 minute period of time.)If any pressure remains in the Instant Pot after the 8 minutes, perform a quick release at that point to remove any pressure.
Remove both pork tenderloins to a cutting board and tent with foil. Meanwhile, using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, stir in the butter to the apple mixture contents to make the sauce. **If you peeled the apples, everything will pretty much fall apart as you stir in the butter; sauce will not be completely smooth due to the cranberries, fyi. Or, if you'd like the sauce to be super smooth, use an immersion blender to process for a few seconds.
Slice the pork tenderloins into medallions; serve on a bed of the apple cranberry sauce, or drizzle the sauce over the top of the pork tenderloin medallions, whichever you prefer. Enjoy!
Notes
Why unplug it? Because after the cooking timer is up, the Instant Pot automatically switches itself to "warm" mode. Even warm mode can take a pork tenderloin from perfectly pink to grey and leathery. Using an instant-read meat thermometer really helps us keep from over or under cooking meats, especially PORK. When you insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the cooked pork tenderloin after it’s rested in the Instant Pot, it should ideally register 145 degrees F and have a nice blush of pink when sliced into medallions.www.ChefAlli.com