Maple-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

From America's Test Kitchen Season 10: Pork Two Ways

When done right, nothing can quite match pork tenderloin’s fine-grained, ­buttery-smooth texture, but even when perfectly cooked, too often it’s still sorely lacking in flavor. We thought a thick, sweet, fragrant glaze would be just the solution and decided it should feature New England’s signature ingredient, maple syrup.

Getting the glaze right was comparatively easy: To temper the sweetness of the maple syrup, we added molasses, mustard, and a shot of bourbon; with a little cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne, the glaze was ready. To give the glaze something to hold on to, we rolled the tenderloins in a mixture of cornstarch and sugar before searing them. When we’d built a good crust in the skillet, we painted on some glaze and transferred the pork to the oven. It occurred to us that the painting analogy was a good one—why not put multiple coats on the tenderloins to get the best coverage? When the meat was nearly done, we put on more glaze, and we added yet another coat when the tenderloins were completely done. Finally, after letting the tenderloins rest, we glazed them one last time. Slicing into this roast revealed success: A thick maple glaze coated the meat.