Grilling with Fruit, Take Two

Good evening everyone!  Since we have a grill, it's been delightful trying new ingredients to put on the grill to see if they stand up to the test.  So far, those ingredients haven't let us down, which is a good thing.  Tonight, we throw another ingredient on the grill, with another slice of meat heaven, to produce one sweet and savory dish.

The Recipe:  Grilled Pork and Mango with Rum Sauce
Original Recipe Found In:  Cooking Light, August 2013

What You'll Need:
1 Tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
2 Tablespoons fresh Lime Juice, divided
1 1/2 Teaspoons Canola Oil, divided
1 (1 Pound) Pork Tenderloin, trimmed
2 ripe Mangos
1/4 Cup packed Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup golden Rum
2 Teaspoons unsalted Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

In a medium bowl, combine the jerk seasoning, one tablespoon lime juice, and one teaspoon oil.  Mix these ingredients until well combined.  Place the tenderloins on a plate and drizzle the seasoning mixture over the pork.  Rub the seasoning over the meat until everything is well coated on both sides.  Set the plate aside.  Next, peel the mangos and cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Place these slices on another plate.  Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of oil until all sides of the cut mango are coated with oil. 

Preheat a grill to medium high heat.  Add the pork to the grill and cook for four minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.  Take the pork off the grill and add the mango slices.  Cook for three minutes on each side, until grill marks are visible and some of the natural juice starts to come out.  Take the mango slices off the grill.

Next, on a stovetop, combine the brown sugar, rum, butter, and salt in a small saucepan.  Bring this mixture to a boil, which should take about two minutes (or shorter!)  Reduce the heat and simmer for four minutes or until thickened.  Stir in one tablespoon of lime juice to combine.  Drizzle the sauce over the pork and mangos, serve, and enjoy!

The End Result:

I expected the pork to have some out-there flavor, or have a kick of super spice, but it actually tasted very mild.  Granted the jerk seasoning has a whole lot of different flavor elements, the lime juice and the oil seemed to subdue that flavor.  Grilling the pork with that seasoned mixture was the ideal way to cook it.  The grilled mangos are quite flavorful too, although you want to be sure that you have ripe mangos, because it will make for one very chewy fruit.  The rum sauce was quite the show stopper.  Obviously, cooking the mixture to remove any of the booziness from the rum is a wise decision, but the flavor that is left behind is sweet, almost kind of nutty.  But it's perfect for this unique dish!

Thanks for joining us this week!  We will back next week, hopefully not melted, with brand new dishes for you to try at home.  Until then,

~Cheers!