Cranberry Glazed Pork Tenderloin (Slow Cooker or Oven)
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 460kcal
Tender, juicy rosemary pork tenderloin with a rich, sweet-tart cranberry-orange sauce. Includes personally tested slow cooker and oven methods.
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice ¼ cup
- 3 pounds pork tenderloin two tenderloins, about 1½ pounds each
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ cups whole-berry cranberry sauce homemade or canned; all added before cooking
- Fresh rosemary and orange slices optional garnish
Instructions
Slow cooker method
- Use a small, sharp fillet or boning knife to remove any tough silver skin from the tenderloins. Pat dry and season all over with salt, pepper, and onion powder.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the tenderloins briefly on all sides, about 1 minute per side, until lightly browned.
- Stir the chopped rosemary, orange zest, and orange juice into the buttery skillet drippings, scraping up the browned bits.
- Transfer the seared tenderloins to a large slow cooker. Pour the orange-rosemary pan juices over the pork, then spoon all 1½ cups of whole-berry cranberry sauce over and around it. No stock or reserved sauce is needed.
- Cover and cook on LOW until the thickest part of each tenderloin reaches 145°F. Start checking before two hours. Two tenderloins took approximately two hours in a larger cooker in testing; one in a 2.5-quart cooker took 2 hours 22 minutes.
- Transfer pork to a platter and rest at least 3 minutes. Slice and spoon the warm cranberry-orange sauce from the slow cooker over the pork.
Oven method
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove any silver skin from the pork with a small, sharp knife. Pat dry, season with salt, pepper, and onion powder, and sear in butter in an oven-safe skillet. Reserve a little seasoned butter and browned juices for the sauce if possible.
- Roast without cranberry sauce until the thickest part reaches 145°F. One 1½-pound tenderloin took 22 minutes in testing; check by temperature. Transfer to a platter away from the hot skillet and rest at least 3 minutes.
- Gently simmer orange juice, zest, rosemary, and any unburned reserved pork juices in a small saucepan until slightly reduced. Stir in the whole-berry cranberry sauce and warm through. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Do not roast the sugary sauce in the hot skillet.
- Slice and serve with the warm sauce. The 22-minute oven test was for one 1½-pound tenderloin; cooking two may take longer.
Notes
- Use pork tenderloins, not a single 3-pound pork loin roast; they are different cuts with different cooking times.
- In two slow-cooker tests, cooking on LOW took approximately 2 to 2½ hours. Always use a thermometer rather than the clock.
- USDA guidance for whole cuts of pork: cook to 145°F internally and rest at least 3 minutes.
- The slow cooker sauce needs no extra stock, reserved cranberry sauce, thickener, or separate saucepan.
- For the oven method, make the cranberry sauce separately so its sugars do not scorch in the roasting skillet.
Nutrition
Calories: 460kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 958mg | Potassium: 947mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 3mg
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