Cranberry Glazed Pork Skewers + Small Plate Giveaway

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is the last of the Sponsored posts I've written on behalf of the National Pork Board. The board recently conducted a survey to identify food trends that are appealing to American cooks this holiday season. They found six recurring themes for their 2011 Pork's Perfect Paring's guide and asked cookbook author Jill Silverman Hough to develop a pork recipe to go with each of them. They also asked some members of the blogging community to provide recipes and holiday ideas for each of the themes they were highlighting. I focused my attention on the Smitten with Small Plates category and for the last three days I've featured pork dishes that work well as appetizers or small plate meals.

I think you'll all enjoy the recipes I'm featuring and the National Pork Board has a Small Plates gift set waiting for one of you. The gift set includes: $25 worth of pork coupons; Jill Silverman Hough cookbooks, including 100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with the Wines You Love and 100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates to Enjoy with the Wines You Love; an instant-read digital thermometer; tapas-style small plates and decorative skewers for holiday appetizers. If you'd like a chance to win, simply comment on one, or all three, of the recipes that are part of this promotion. Everyone can enter up to three entries to the drawing. The winner, chosen by a random number drawing, will be announced on Saturday, December 17th. Good luck! While I have received a similar gift package, the opinions in this post are 100% mine.

I decided to use pork tenderloin for the last of the dishes I wanted to make for this promotion. Pork skewers make great finger food and I thought the tenderloin could be made more festive with a cranberry glaze that would add some sweetness and seasonal color to the dish. I also wanted to brighten the final flavor, so I finished the skewers with an orange and cilantro gremolata that worked especially well with the cranberry glaze. These skewers are very easy to make. I hope you will give them a try. Here's the recipe.

Cranberry Glazed Pork Skewers with Cilantro and Orange Gremolata...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

Marinade and Sauce:

1 cup cranberry juice

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons dried cranberries, divided use

1/2 cup thick teriyaki sauce

2 teaspoons Asian-style hot chili sauce (i.e. Sriracha)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon lime juice, divided use

Gremolata:

2 tablespoons finely chopped orange zest

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

4 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Pork:

1 (12 to 16-oz.) pork tenderloin

24 bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Directions:

1) Trim pork tenderloin and remove silver skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut tenderloin lengthwise into four long pieces each about 1/2 inch thick. Flatten slightly, then cut each strip in half lengthwise. Cut each long strip crosswise into three pieces, each of which will be 3-1/2 to 4-inches long. You should end up with 24 pieces of pork.

2) To make marinade and sauce: Place juice, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, teriyaki sauce, hot chili sauce, salt, cornstarch and 1 teaspoon lime juice in jar of an electric blender. Puree. Place 1/2 cup sauce, reserved 1/4 cup lime juice and pork in a medium bowl, turning pork strips to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place reserved 1 cup sauce in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until slightly thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.

3) To prepare gremolata: Finely chop reserved 2 tablespoons dried cranberries. Place cranberries, orange zest, garlic and cilantro in a small bowl. Toss to combine. Set aside.

4) To cook pork: Preheat oven broiler element. Thread 1 pork strip on each bamboo skewer and baste lightly with cranberry glaze. Place on a pan and broil skewers 6 inches from heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning and glazing once.

5) To serve: Sprinkle pork with gremolata and sea salt, if using. Transfer skewers to individual serving plates. Yield: About 24 skewers.

Cook's Note: Be sure to sprinkle each pork skewer with gremolata. It is a necessary component of this dish.