Apartment Friendly "BBQ" Pulled Pork

 
As I may or may not have mentioned before, my tiny kitchen is, alas, not blessed with any semblance of outdoor space, save for the front stoop. Therefore, true barbecue anything is not something I can actually accomplish. However, since visiting a barbecue serving restaurant establishment last week, we've been craving barbecue here. Stumbling upon a recipe in Real Simple,  I made faux barbecue, and it wasn't half bad. Of course, to those die-hard BBQ fans, I realize this amounts to practically sacrilege. But hey, when you're having a craving and in a pinch...

Faux Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 pork tenderloin, cut in four pieces crosswise

your favorite barbecue sauce

red wine vinegar

sesame buns

coleslaw (optional)

french fries (optional)

Place pork tenderloin pieces in a large saucepan with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar.

Simmer, covered about 20 minutes until tenderloin is "fork-tender". Remove from pan and shred tenderloin with a fork.

Mix with a little more barbecue sauce. Serve on sesame buns with a side of coleslaw and french fries.

As I said, it's not true BBQ but it really was good. 

Garlic and Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin

I have a friend that is allergic to dairy and nightshades (that would be potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants) So, this recipe is for him; or rather, his wife, my dear friend.

Pork Tenderloin is a favorite meat in my house. It is so versatile and makes a good change when I'm sick of cooking chicken over and over. I prefer to get the Hormel or Smithfield pre-marinated kind. Maybe its just me but it seems that they cook faster and more evenly than the un-marinated store kind.

Regardless, this would probably work on the un-marinated version also but I would add more cracked pepper and your choice of spices to the pan to give the pork a little more pizzazz.

Garlic and Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin

1 peppercorn marinated tenderloin, sliced into 1 inch thick medallions

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

¼ cup good white wine

1 tsp dried tarragon

1 tsp dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Preheat oven to lowest temperature setting or the warm setting if your oven has one.

In large sauté pan, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Arrange medallions in pan and fry until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. (I always end up slicing into the largest piece to make sure its cooked through) When fully cooked, remove from pan, place on a oven safe plate and put into the oven to stay hot.

In the same sauté pan, add crushed garlic cloves, white wine, tarragon and thyme. Cook over medium low heat to reduce. Remove medallions from oven, place on plates and pour sauce over the top.