- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.
- In a small bowl, blend all the ingredients for the Bahamian pork rub to make a paste. Rub the tenderloins with the spice paste and set aside.
- Mix together the first five ingredients of the mango salsa and basting sauce (orange juice, garlic, salt, lime juice and chilli). Set aside 60ml of the mixture for the mango salsa.
- Into the remaining mixture, whisk in the honey and olive oil. This mixture is the basting sauce. Set the basting sauce aside.
- Next prepare the mango salsa by chopping the diced mango and combining with the rest of the ingredients. Chill until ready to use.
- Heat the rapeseed oil in a large oven-proof, non-stick frying pan. Fry the pork tenderloin until brown on both sides.
- Remove from the heat and baste generously with some of the basting sauce and put into the oven.
- Every five minutes, baste the pork with more sauce until it is cooked. Depending on the size of the tenderloin fillets, a total of ten minutes should be fine for slightly pink pork. (To be sure it is cooked, use a meat thermometer to take the temperature of the pork at the thickest part. When the temperature reaches 62°C (145°F) the tenderloin will be cooked but still juicy and tender).
- Remove the meat from oven, put on a plate, cover with foil and rest for five minutes.
- While the meat is resting, reduce the remaining basting sauce with the pan juices by rapidly boiling the mixture.
- To serve, slice the tenderloin on a diagonal into 2 inch strips and spoon over some of the reduced basting sauces. Serve with the mango salsa and for the true Bahamian experience, add plain boiled rice and black beans.
Bahamian pork tenderloin by Corpulent Capers
- Prep time 30 mins
- Cook time 20 mins
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 x 450g pork tenderloin fillets, trimmed
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
For the Bahamian pork rub:
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tbsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
For the mango salsa and basting sauce (60ml of this mixture is for the mango salsa, the rest is for the basting sauce):
- 175ml fresh orange juice
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 habanera or any hot chilli, finely chopped (for less heat remove the seeds)
For the basting sauce, add to the above:
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the mango salsa:
- 275g ripe mango, diced
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 tbsp tops of green onions, chopped
- reserved 60ml of basting sauce
Method
We asked local food bloggers to share their favourite pork dishes with us. Here is blogger Carol Adams’s recipe, who writes Corpulent Capers with her husband Mark. Carol is half Bahamian and for this pork tenderloin recipe she decided to go back to her roots and create a recipe based on ingredients from the Bahamas.