Glazed Pork Tenderloin
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This glazed pork tenderloin is marinated, sear-roasted, and served with a rich mustard-sherry sauce for a simple yet elegant meal.
Adapted from cookbook author and food columnist Marian Burros’ 5-star recipe—first featured in The New York Times in 1989—this easy glazed pork tenderloin is perfect for both weeknight dinners and special occasions. The marinade, a simple blend of mustard, brown sugar, rosemary, and sherry, infuses the tenderloin with a savory-sweet flavor while doubling as the base for a rich sauce.
Serve it alongside mashed sweet potatoes and French green beans for an effortlessly elegant meal.
“I made this for Christmas Eve dinner and doubled the recipe. It’s Christmas Day and my family is still talking about last night’s meal.”
What You’ll Need To make glazed Pork Tenderloin
- Pork Tenderloin: Lean, tender, and perfect for marinating and roasting, tenderloins cook quickly but require care to avoid drying out. Each loin weighs about 1 pound, so you’ll need 2 of them.
- Marinade Ingredients: A flavorful mix of light brown sugar, grainy Dijon mustard, dry sherry, fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, and vegetable oil. Together, they create a savory-sweet marinade while also helping the pork develop a beautifully browned crust.
- Unsalted Butter: Finishes the sauce, creating a smooth, velvety texture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the marinade. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, mustard, sherry, and rosemary.
Step 2: Marinate the pork. Place the tenderloins in a dish, season with salt, and coat with one-third of the mixture. Marinate for 1 hour or overnight. Refrigerate the remaining marinade to use as the sauce base.
Pro tip: The pork will be flavorful and delicious after marinating for just an hour, but don’t skip the overnight option if you have the time—the longer the pork sits, the deeper the flavor.
Step 3: Sear and roast. Heat the oil in a large cast iron or oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and add both tenderloins. Sear on all sides until nicely browned, then transfer to a preheated 350°F oven and cook until the pork registers about 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, 12 to 15 minutes.
Pro tip: Make sure the skillet and oil are fully up to temperature before adding the pork. If the pan isn’t hot enough, the meat will steam instead of sear and you won’t get that deep, caramelized crust. A drop of water should evaporate almost instantly when the pan is ready.
Step 4: Start the sauce. Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade into a small skillet and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
Step 5: Finish the sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and, stirring constantly, incorporate the butter one piece at a time. This technique is known as “mounting.” Season with salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Pro tip: Adding the butter off the heat is key here. If the pan is too hot, the butter will break and turn greasy instead of giving you that silky, glossy sauce.
Step 6: Let the pork rest. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes, then slice.
Pro tip: Slice on a slight diagonal for the most attractive presentation; it exposes more of the interior and makes for a prettier platter.
Step 7: Serve. Arrange the sliced tenderloin on a platter and drizzle with a bit of the sauce, passing the rest at the table.
Video Tutorial
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Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2 pork tenderloins (1¾ to 2 lb/794 to 900 g) total
- ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
- ½ cup grainy Dijon mustard, such as Maille Rich Country Dijon Mustard Blend or Grey Poupon Country Dijon
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for cooking
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
Instructions
- Pat the tenderloins dry with paper towels.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, mustard, sherry, and rosemary.
- Place the tenderloins in a baking dish or bowl. Season all over with 1¼ teaspoons salt and pour about one-third of the marinade over top. Turn the tenderloins a few times to coat evenly with the marinade. Marinate for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight (the longer, the better). Cover the remaining marinade and refrigerate until ready to use (it will form the base of the sauce).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Heat the oil in a large cast iron or oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat (see note below if you don't have one of these pans). Add both tenderloins and sear on all sides until nicely browned, 6 to 8 minutes (don't move the tenderloins around between turns; they will brown better if left alone). Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the pork registers about 140°F (60°C) on an instant-read thermometer, 12 to 15 minutes. (To check for doneness without a thermometer, make a slit in the thickest part of the loin; the meat should be mostly white with a slight hint of pale pink, and the juices should run mostly clear.)
- Remove the skillet from the oven and immediately place an oven mitt or dishtowel over the handle to remind yourself that it is hot (it is easy to forget and burn yourself!). Transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes, then cut into ¼- to ½-in (6 to 12-mm) slices.
- Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade into a small skillet and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and, stirring constantly, incorporate the butter one piece at a time. Add ⅛ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Arrange the sliced tenderloin on a platter and drizzle with a bit of the sauce; pass the remaining sauce at the table.
Notes
- If you don't have an oven-proof skillet, transfer the pork to a foil-lined sheet pan after searing. (The foil is just for easy cleanup.) You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time.
- The nutritional information includes all of the ingredients for the marinade, so one serving is likely significantly lower in calories and fat than the numbers below.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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O.M.G. This was ahh-mazing! No-One in my family is a fan of pork tenderloin so I made this on the sly, and EVERY-ONE LOVED THIS!
Thank you yet again Jen for another fabulous meal!
Would a smooth instead of a grainy Dijon mustard work? It’s all I have on hand and I’d rather not get yet another bottle of mustard until the ones at home are finished.
It should work well, G. Enjoy!
Best pork tenderloin I have ever made!!! It will be a regular at our house.
Marinated overnight and oh that glaze you save for sauce…fantastic.
Excellent sauce. I followed the recipe but deglazed the pan with the sauce instead of doing it on the side, why waste all of that yummy!. Will definitely make again.
Made this tonight, and it was delicious!! I didn’t realize there was a difference between dry sherry and cooking sherry (😳) so I used cooking sherry without issue. I also heeded another commenter’s advice and used the same pan to cook the sauce—and only burned myself once, a win!! Thanks for this yummy weeknight meal, Jenn!
Love this recipe! Quite easy to make and the sauce is very good. I used the same pan that I cooked the pork tenderloin in. While the pork was resting after it was cooked, I added the sauce to the pan to deglaze. Definitely making again.
If I don’t have sherry, is it possible to substitute rice wine vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, red wine?
Hi Lisa, If you have Chinese rice wine, that would work here, but I wouldn’t use any vinegar. Some other substitutes are white wine, apple cider, or apple juice. Hope that helps!
We had this last night; I only had one tenderloin for the two of us so I halved the recipe; worked perfectly. Going with the internal temp ALWAYS produces perfectly cooked (not over-cooked) pork. Another great and easy family dinner.
I am also LOVING using my ‘recipe box’ because I so often go back for recipes I’ve tried again and again. So easy to find my favorites – which seem to be every one I try. Thanks again Jenn!
OMG, this pork tenderloin was AMAZING! Made the maple sweet potatoes to go with it, which were also good, but the pork tenderloin and the sauce were out of this world! Will definitely be having again!
I took a chance and made this recipe Dairy-Free…it was delicious and a big hit with my family! We eat dairy-free so I tend to avoid recipes that have butter as a primary ingredient. I loved the idea of a sauce with pork tenderloin (my husband is a sauce guy!) The rest of the ingredients were flavor packed so I decided to go for it. I followed the recipe as written up to the point of adding the butter and salt. I added Earth Balance (in place of butter) a tablespoon at a time, tasting along the way to get a good balance of salt and sweet. I omitted the added salt b/c Earth Balance has salt so use caution when adding. Also added healthy dose of black pepper and wow, so good!!! I love your recipes! Thank you Jen!