Pork Medallions with Cherry Spice Sauce

Slice the pork into six pieces. Pat them dry—moisture is the enemy of crust. Pound them out a bit with your palm. Flour goes on next, shake off the excess. This isn’t a thick breading situation.

Why You’ll Love This Pork Medallions Cherry Spice Dinner

Takes 55 minutes total. Thirty of that is actually cooking. The cherry sauce tastes like you spent way longer on it than you did.

Weeknight dinner that doesn’t feel like weeknight dinner. Sour cherries cut through the richness of pork. Five-spice powder and cinnamon make it taste like something from a restaurant kitchen.

Seared pork stays tender if you don’t mess with it. The sauce—wine reduced down, cherries folded in at the end, butter swirled through—clings to everything. Works with rice. Works with steamed vegetables. Works cold the next day if it even lasts that long.

One pan. Well, you dirty one pan. But still.

What You Need for Pan-Seared Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce

Pork tenderloin, about 500 grams. Slice it yourself into six pieces roughly two centimeters thick. All-purpose flour. Just enough to coat light.

Sour cherries from a jar, drained. Save the juice. Both matter.

Butter. Half of 50 grams goes in the pan with olive oil. The rest finishes the sauce. Unsalted. The salt’s coming later.

One large shallot and one clove garlic, minced small. A parsnip diced up. Dry red wine. Chicken stock. Cinnamon sticks—two of them. Fresh thyme sprig. Ground five-spice powder. Salt and cracked black pepper.

That’s it. Not complicated.

How to Make Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin with Red Wine Cherry Sauce

Get the skillet hot. Medium-high. Add half the butter with olive oil. It should shimmer. Not smoke. Shimmering.

Pat the pork dry again if it’s sitting around. Dredge it in flour. Shake it off. This prevents gummy crusts. Put the medallions in.

Three to five minutes per side. You want light browning and a slight firmness when you press it. Salt and pepper now. The internal color should have a faint blush. Not raw. Not gray. Just a hint of pink stays in there.

Remove the pork. Tent it with foil. It keeps cooking for a minute or two—that’s carryover cooking. It matters. A lot. This is where people lose juiciness.

Same pan. Reduce heat to medium. Shallots, garlic, parsnips go in. Stir gently. Wooden spoon works best. Five to seven minutes until translucent. Don’t let it brown. You want mellow here, not bitter.

How to Get Pork Medallions with Spices Actually Tender and Juicy

Pour in the red wine and the reserved cherry juice. Scrape the bottom of the pan with your spoon. All those browned bits—that’s flavor. Add the cinnamon sticks. Let it reduce down. The bubbles will slow. The liquid thickens. The kitchen smells insane.

Pour in the chicken stock. Sprinkle in the five-spice powder. Drop the thyme sprig. Simmer. Not boiling. Gentle bubbles. It reduces to about two-thirds the original volume. The sauce concentrates. Layers happen.

Taste it. Salt and pepper fix it. Remove the cinnamon and thyme—strain it or fish them out by hand. Return the sauce to heat. Fold in the sour cherries. One minute. Then turn the heat off.

Swirl in the remaining butter. Whisk it. This creates something silky. The emulsification happens when you stop heating and just whisk. The sauce gets glossy.

Pork Medallions with Cherry Spice Sauce Tips and Common Mistakes

Don’t skip the resting. People always skip this. The pork needs three minutes under foil minimum. The carryover cooking is real. It brings everything to medium without drying it out.

Pound the medallions even. Thickness matters more than you think. Two centimeters. Flatten them with your palm so they cook at the same rate.

Don’t brown the shallots and garlic. Low and slow here. You want the background sweet, not caramelized.

If the sauce breaks when you add the butter, you got the heat too high. Turn it off first. Then whisk. Cold butter in hot liquid separates. Cold butter in warm liquid—it emulsifies.

The cherry juice matters. Don’t skip it. It adds acidity and depth. The wine alone gets flat.

Pork Medallions with Cherry Spice Sauce

By Emma

Prep:

25 min

Cook:

30 min

Total:

55 min

Servings:

2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin approx 500 g
• 70 ml all-purpose flour
• 200 ml jarred sour cherries, drained
• 200 ml reserved cherry juice
• 50 g unsalted butter divided
• 20 ml olive oil
• Salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 large shallot minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 60 ml diced parsnip
• 110 ml dry red wine
• 2 medium cinnamon sticks
• 400 ml chicken stock
• 60 ml ground five-spice powder
• 1 fresh thyme sprig

Method

1. 1 Slice pork into six 2 cm thick medallions. Pat dry. Lightly flatten medallions with palm to even thickness—key for even cooking. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess to avoid gummy crusts. Drain cherries separately, reserve liquid carefully.
2. 2 Heat skillet over medium-high. Add half butter with olive oil, shimmering hot but not smoking. Sear medallions 3-5 minutes per side, aiming for light browning and slight firmness—medium rare depends on thickness. Salt and pepper towards end. Internal color should hold faint blush—not raw but tender and juicy. Remove, tent with foil to rest—carryover cooking important to keep moist.
3. 3 Same pan, reduce heat to medium. Toss in shallots, garlic, and parsnips. Stir gently—use wooden spoon—soften till translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Avoid browning here; want mellow sweetness, not bitter char. Deglaze with red wine and cherry juice. Scrape browned bits stuck to pan—flavor gold. Add cinnamon sticks for warm spice punch. Reduce liquids down to near syrup consistency, watch bubbles slow and thicken—aroma fills kitchen, signals next step.
4. 4 Pour in chicken stock, sprinkle in five-spice, and drop thyme sprig. Simmer gently; bubbles slow and fewer. Reduce to about two thirds original volume—sauce thickens, layers concentrate. Taste and adjust salt, hint of pepper. Remove solids by straining or fish out cinnamon and thyme. Return sauce to heat, fold in cherries for one minute infusion, then swirl in remaining butter off heat to gloss and enrich texture. Whisk briskly for emulsification—creates silky mouthfeel.
5. 5 Plate. Spoon sauce over warm pork medallions. Sauce clings, shiny and aromatic. Serve with steamed seasonal veg or fluffy rice—both soak up nuances without overpowering. Remember, carryover and resting time critical—jump to plating too soon and juices escape. Medallions should be tender, moist, with sauce balancing fruit brightness and spice warmth.
6. 6 If no chicken stock, use good quality vegetable broth or dilute demi-glace. Parsnips replace carrots well but keep cooking time close. Cinnamon replaces star anise for gentler spice; fresh thyme gives brightness missing in dried bay leaves. Flour dusting prevents proteins drying out and helps sauce stick. Avoid overheated oil; pans too hot burn butter, ruining sauce finish.

Nutritional information

Calories

430

Protein

32g

Carbs

16g

Fat

28g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Sauce

Can I make this ahead? Cook the pork, make the sauce separate. Reheat gently. The pork shouldn’t spend more than an hour sitting around after it’s seared or it dries out. Sauce is fine in the fridge for three days.

What if I don’t have five-spice powder? Use cinnamon and a pinch of clove. Maybe some ginger. The five-spice gives you all that at once. You can approximate but it tastes different. Not worse. Different.

How do I know when the pork is actually done? Internal temp is 145 Fahrenheit for medium. But honestly, feel the firmness. Raw pork is soft. Overcooked pork is hard. Done pork has some give. Press it with your finger. You’ll know.

Should I use fresh cherries instead? Haven’t tried it. The sour cherry juice is important to the sauce balance. Fresh cherries are sweeter. You’d need to add wine or vinegar to compensate. Jarred ones are easier.

What pairs with this? Rice soaks up the sauce. Steamed vegetables don’t compete with the spices. Roasted root vegetables work too. Nothing too heavy.

Can I substitute the parsnip? Carrots work. Celery if you want lighter. The parsnip adds a subtle sweetness that complements the cherry. But you’re fine swapping it.