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Pork Tenderloin with Orange Sauce

A pork tenderloin roasted with orange sauce, served over rice.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,083 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Pork Tenderloin with Orange Sauce

Oven350°F
Time1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the pork

  1. Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper.

  2. Saute the meat in butter in an oven-proof skillet until browned on all sides.

  3. Push the meat to one side of the skillet; add the onion and cook until tender.

Braise

  1. Pour the wine and the juice from two oranges over the meat.

  2. Stir in the sugar and the bay leaf.

  3. Cover and bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender.

Make the orange peel and sauce

  1. Peel the remaining orange and section it.

  2. Cut the peel into very thin strips.

  3. Boil the peel strips in a small amount of water until tender, then drain.

  4. Remove the meat from the pan and discard the bay leaf.

  5. Mix the cornstarch with one tablespoon of water.

  6. Add the cornstarch mixture to the liquid in the skillet.

  7. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth.

  8. Add the peel strips to the sauce and slice the meat.

Serve

  1. Place the sliced meat on a platter of fluffy rice.

  2. Pour the sauce over the meat.

  3. Garnish with orange sections.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1193Calories
47 gProtein
28 gFat
180 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,083 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,433 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,214 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Pepper + orangetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Pork + ricetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,137 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Pork tenderloin
Is the main protein; browning and then slow baking keep it tender and juicy.
Orange juice
Adds acidity and sweetness that balance the savory pork and flavor the braising liquid.
Cornstarch
Thickens the pan liquid into a glossy, smooth sauce when heated.
White wine
Adds acidity and depth to the braising liquid as it cooks down.
Butter
Adds fat and promotes browning on the surface of the meat.
Onion
Softens and adds savory sweetness to the pan juices.

The step that matters

Cook the cornstarch mixture until the sauce thickens. Cornstarch needs to reach a simmer while stirred to gelatinize and thicken. Stopping too early leaves a thin sauce, and overcooking or uneven heating can cause lumps or a weakened thickness.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, butter, onion, white wine, sugar, rice):

  1. Mangofits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Coconutfits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, butter, onion, white wine, sugar, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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