Southern Napoleon: Gravy & Comté Pork Tenderloin with Skillet Potatoes & Peppers

This recipe is one completely of my own making. It blends a French Alpine dish with some good Southern Dixie flavors including peppers, Madeira wine, & Bourbon. It turned out beyond perfect. It’s hearty while not being too heavy and it is full of flavor.

You will need to marinate the Pork for 2 hours and then let it reach room temp before beginning to cook.

The recipe also involves a lot of movement and working parts all at the same time so have your mis en place ready!

Pork

• 1 Lb Pork Tenderloin, silver skin removed

• 1/4 Cup Bourbon

• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

• 1 Tbs Honey (Hot, if you got it)

• Dash Liquid Smoke

• Dash Worcestershire

• 1 1/2 Tbs Brown Sugar

• Dash Spices of Choice

• 2 Cups Shredded Comté (Gruyere)

Gravy

• ~3 Cups Chicken Bouillon (you’ll have leftover)

• ~2 Cup Madeira Wine

• 3 Tbs Flour

• Large Dollop Bacon Grease

• Dash Herbes de Provence

• Dash Dried Rosemary

Potato, Onion, & Pepper Side Dish

• ~1 Lb Mini Potatoes halved or quartered and thrown into some cool water

• 1/4 Sweet Onion sliced thinly

• ~3 Sweet Mini Peppers sliced thinly

• 3 Cloves Garlic minced

• Butter & Oil

• Salt & Cajun Seasoning to Taste

1. The first step is one you must do a couple hours ahead of time. Place the Pork, silver-skin removed, along with every other ingredient for the Pork except for the Cheese into a big bag, remove the air, and let it marinate for a couple hours in the fridge. I flip it every now and then so it’s equally marinated. Then take it out of the fridge half an hour before you’re ready to cook, so while you’re cutting and getting your mis en place ready, it’s coming to room temperature.

2. Two and a half hours have now gone by and you’re hungry so let’s start cooking. Turn the oven up to 400°. Place the cut up Potatoes into a bowl of water to soak until you’re ready to cook em. Make the Chicken Bouillon. Once made (& cooled), pour about 1 1/2 Cups of it into a large glass measuring cup, along with about 1 1/2 Cups of Madeira Wine. Take the Tenderloin out of the bag and place it into a long enough glass baking dish (I cut the Tenderloin into two). Keep the bag nearby, you’ll need just a little bit of that marinade later. Heat two cast irons to medium-high on the stove.

3. Once the skillet for the Pork is ready, drop some Bacon Grease in and let it coat the bottom. You’re now ready to sear the Pork Tenderloin on all sides (including the center if you cut it in two).

4. Dump the Taters into a drainer in the sink and let them dry a bit, you don’t want them to pop with too much water when you throw em in the skillet.

5. Once browned on all sides, place the Tenderloin into the glass baking dish with a little of the marinade and a little of the Chicken Bouillon. I don’t pour too much but enough to coat the bottom of the dish. Now carefully put the Pork Tenderloin in the oven for 20 minutes, although halfway through, I flip the Tenderloin over. You absolutely don’t want to overcook this sucker either, so watch it.

6. While it’s cooking, you’ve got to make the Gravy & the Potatoes, Onions, & Peppers at the same time.

7. In the skillet that had the Pork Tenderloin, put another Dollop of Bacon Grease in there and let it melt. In the other skillet, which should be quite hot, drop the Butter or Oil or both or Bacon Grease, what have you (no matter what you eat, you will still die), and once melted, add the dry Potatoes. You’ll want to stir those around for a good bit so they’ll evenly get the oil or butter coated onto them.

8. In the Pork Tenderloin/Bacon Grease skillet you will want to add the flour and then stir it with a whisk or a wooden spatula, what have you. It won’t take too long before it’s browning and smelling delicious and nutty. You’ll then pour that measuring cup with the Chicken Bouillon & the Madeira into the skillet. It’ll sizzle, you’ll want to mix & stir when you can. You also want it to reduce and thicken. Maybe turn down the heat a little.

9. In the Potato skillet make sure to continue to cook and stir and eventually you will want to add the Peppers & Onions, but probably not until 10 minutes of cooking have gone by. Oh, if you haven’t flip the Pork Tenderloin in the oven. Now add the Peppers & Onions.

10. Continue to stir and whisk every now and then as the Gravy reduces and thickens.

11. After a hard 20 minutes have gone by, take that Pork Tenderloin out of the oven carefully, and take the Pork Tenderloins out of the glass baking dish and place it onto a cutting board. Let it continue to cook and soak in it’s own meaty juices while you finish the Side Dish and the Gravy.

12. You may want to soften or melt the Comté cheese around this point as well.

13. When the Gravy’s reduced and thickened to your liking, turn the heat off (it’s a skillet so it’ll stay hot) or on simmer. Throw in the Dashes of Herbes de Provence and Rosemary and stir some more.

14. When the Potatoes, Onions, & Peppers are just almost soft and done to your liking, add the minced Garlic and some Salt and whatever other Spices you want and cook very briefly, only a minute or two, you don’t want to burn the Garlic. When finished, take the skillet off the eye and stir one more time before spooning a heaping delicious pile onto your plate.

15. Almost finished; now slice the tender & juicy Pork Tenderloin into thin strips and plate them, sprinkle the melted or shredded Comté cheese on the Tenderloin medallions, and then pour the gravy evenly over that delicious warm pile of meat and cheese. You may now, dig in…