Roasted Pork with Apricot Preserves

Credit to this recipe goes to Bella from Bitch & Bake. I’ve been dying to make it for MONTHS but as there is no pork  in Saudi Arabia, I had to wait until I was home in the Philippines to try it. Since my vacation included the holidays, I chose it as one of the dishes for my family’s Christmas lunch.

For the marinade, I used white table wine instead of limeade, used a little bit more apricot preserve (Filipinos love sweet dishes), and went easy on the chili sauce since there would be children eating.

I had no idea how to buy pork and didn’t even know what the cuts are called. I knew I needed pork tenderloin but didn’t know what it was called in my native language (I had to know since we would be buying from the local market). I asked my mother and she wasn’t sure either.

Mom: Is it “lomo”? That’s what I usually buy.
Me: Er… I don’t know. Is it soft?

It turned out to be lomo. Hehe.  I sliced them while still raw and laid them in rows in a rectangular baking pan before pouring the marinade all over it.

After 45 minutes, it was ready for us to enjoy!

You know what might be better? Letting the meat marinate in the sauce for 24 hours in the fridge before cooking. I might try that next time. But just as is, the whole thing was deelish!!! And it was so good to eat along with the rest of the Christmas dishes: Mom’s homemade ham, steamed brown rice with pandan leaves, seafood pasta sauce with spinach fettuccine (added squid and tuna to this recipe), and pumpkin spiced cake for dessert.

Leftovers are good, too, even when eaten straight from the fridge. It’s easy to guess what I had for lunch today. 🙂

Roasted Pork with Apricot Preserves

From Bitch & Bake

Ingredients:

2 – 2.5 lbs (2 parts) pork tenderloins
15 oz (1.8 cups) apricot preserves
4 tablespoons white whine
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1.5 teaspoons chili sauce, depending on desired heat

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice defrosted pork tenderloins 1/2 inch thick per piece and lay them in two rows in a baking pan. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine all other ingredients and, stirring occasionally, bring to a simmer then remove from heat.
• Pour the sauce over the pork tenderloins and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the thermometer registers 160 degrees. Baste the tenderloins at least once during cooking.