Pork Loin with Huckleberry Sauce

HUCKLEBERRY SAUCE is a good thing to keep around. I have containers of it in various sizes in my freezer. A small 4-ouncer is easily enough to feed two, and once defrosted it can be spiced up however you want. Click here for the huckleberry sauce recipe (you can substitute store-bought blueberries if necessary).

You’ll find versions of this pork loin recipe online, but there are a couple extra steps that I follow to make it extra delicious. For one thing, I like to add a tablespoon or more of orange zest to my standard huckleberry sauce. Also, I use the usual woodsy herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme) as well as oregano, parsley, and basil. The fresh basil, in particular, works with the orange zest to brighten the huckleberry sauce with a slightly more tropical zing. If you don’t have all these fresh herbs on hand, make do with what you’ve got (but the more the better, in my opinion). Finally, a quick de-glaze of the skillet with red wine will extract every last bit of the herbal flavor.

1 lb pork loin
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp salt
red wine
orange for zest and garnish
huckleberry sauce

1. Combine fresh chopped herbs with salt and pepper on a plate.

2. Slather pork loin with 1 tbsp oil and roll in herb mixture until fully coated. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Pre-heat oven to 400 degree. Heat remaining oil in skillet and brown pork loin. Turn meat carefully. Move pork loin to roasting pan and de-glaze skillet with a splash of red wine; pour over meat. Put in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on taste.

4. Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes. Slice and arrange over bed of grain (rice pilaf in this case). Drizzle generously with huckleberry sauce and garnish with sliced oranges.

A Pinot Noir will drink nicely with the herb-pork-huckleberry trifecta. Now do your best Yogi Bear impression. “Hey Boo Boo!” Accept Oscar. Serves 2.

9 thoughts on “Pork Loin with Huckleberry Sauce

  1. Poppy

    Lang, great idea to deglaze the pan, I’ve made a similar recipe many times but never thought of that. Photos look excellent, btw. Looks like you’re getting the hang of that fancy camera.

    Reply
  2. sally

    Huckleberries? Now? The best I can do is rhubarb sauce which makes it into the freezer, but rarely lasts past August. I can see that a little discipline with these delectables would feel very good mid-winter. Beautiful meal.

    Reply
  3. Peabody

    I love all things huckleberry. My parents live in Northern ID so I always make sure they get me some. I have a lovely pulled pork sandwich with huckleberry bbq sauce on my blog.

    Reply
  4. LC

    Poppy – The days of point-and-shoot now seem vaguely Paleolithic, like one of those Fred Flintstone cameras with the bird inside.

    LTH – A great cut, and a forgiving cut. Give the sauce a try and let me know how it comes out.

    Sally – Discipline is not my strong suit. Quantity–its all about quantity!

    Gary – Thanks for stopping by. You should have plenty of huckleberry patches in your neck of the woods.

    Peabody – Pulled Pork Sammie with Huck BBQ? I’m on my way to yr blog right now!

    Reply
  5. LC

    Jennifer – Try it next time with hucks and let me know what you think.

    Kevin – Thanks for stopping by. It is good!

    Reply

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