Balsamic Fig Sauce on Pork Loin? Yes Ma’am, it’s as amazing as it sounds. This was the most flavorful and tender piece of pork I’ve ever prepared. It really came out so incredible. The pork was so moist and juicy, I can’t wait to make it again!
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Searing your pork really makes a difference
This was the first time I bothered to sear my pork before putting it in the oven and I really think it made a big difference. It’s a bit of a pain to get another pan dirty and try to get it evenly seared, but it really held in the moisture and made this pork loin so incredibly tender. Ok, so maybe the butter helped too.
Figs make everything fancy – And dried figs are always in season!
And if you’ve been around my blog at all, you know I have an obsession with figs. This recipe uses chopped dried figs (which I always have on hand). They’re not expensive and they really go with anything. I often eat them for lunch with a few slices of cheese and the combination is so sweet and sharp and full of flavor. And now combined with balsamic vinegar? Dynamite!
Perfect Pork Loin Side Dishes:
Julia Child’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Winter Salad with Goat Cheese
Honey Roasted Parsnips
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Quinoa Side Dish
You can also just search “Potatoes” on my Pinterest boards for more amazing recipes! And be sure to follow me for tons of inspiring recipes from other bloggers (and me)!
Keep it saucy!
My pork loin was closer to 3 pounds and I wish I had doubled the sauce. Although there was still enough, I like everything drenched in sauce. And especially this one. So if you end up with a bigger tenderloin, double the sauce recipe. You won’t be sorry. And if you need a great appetizer to go with this meal, try this Fig & Goat Cheese Crostini with Honey & Mint.
Love this pork loin recipe? Try these other amazing dinners!
If you decide to give this recipe a try, be sure to snap a photo to share, tagging @theovenlight and #theovenlight on Instagram or Facebook!
Pork Loin with Balsamic Fig Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pork Loin
- 1 2 lb pork tenderloin
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper generous
- 1 Tbsp dried thyme or 2Tbsp fresh
- 2 Tbsp butter cut into 4 pats
For the Balsamic Fig Sauce
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1/3 C water
- 1/3 C balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 C chopped dried figs
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Generously season pork with salt, pepper.
- In a large pan, heat olive oil until shimmery. Add tenderloin and cook on all sides until browned.
- Place tenderloin on foil in the baking pan. Sprinkle with thyme on all sides. Place pats of butter on top of tenderloin. Wrap in foil.
- Bake until an internal thermometer reads 150° at the thickest part of the meat. 25-35 minutes.
- When pork is done, remove from oven and let rest at least 5 minutes to lock in the juices.
- Slice against the grain and serve with fig sauce.
For the Sauce
- While the pork is cooking, place a saucepan over medium heat and melt butter. Add shallot and cook until translucent. Add water and balsamic vinegar. Heat until reduced by about half and it is noticeably thicker.
- Add chopped figs and thyme. Stir until fully combined and figs have softened slightly. About 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve over pork.
Notes
Great, fool-proof sauce. I used all fresh ingredients and was fortunate to have been gifted a fig-balsamic that to add more fig flavor. For the pork loin, I sous vide the pork loin (137°/1 hour + 1/2) and seared it off while finishing the sauce: it was as tender as it could be.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Awesome my wife thought she wouldn’t like the figs. Now she ready for me to make this again thank you so much
You can substitute the figs for fig jam but get good fig jam but you can toss in some fresh figs too. My friend made this for my husband and I… we never cook out pork any other way! Awesome. She serve with rice and put sauce on that too!
Thank you for you comment Mary! And yes, fig jam would be a great substitute if you can’t find dried figs.
Good recipe. I doubled it and, instead of using the figs chopped, I put the chopped figs in a small blender with hot water in the amount called for in the recipe. I then puréed the figs and followed the recipe from there…reducing the mixture with the balsamic. Very tasty!
Sounds amazing! So glad you liked it.