Pork Medallions with Tangerine Glaze

Sear the pork until it’s got that golden edge, then pull it. Shallots and garlic go in next—low heat, they need to soften without browning. The sauce builds from there. Tangerine juice, honey, arrowroot powder. Sounds simple because it is.

Why You’ll Love This Citrus Glazed Pork

Takes 50 minutes total. Not some all-day thing. Gluten free. Just arrowroot instead of flour. Works perfectly fine. The sauce gets glossy and sticks to the pork instead of sliding off. Tastes bright but not sharp—tangerine does that naturally. Looks like you spent time on it. Didn’t. Serves with anything. Roasted carrots, mashed potatoes, rice. Whatever.

What You Need for Pork Medallions Tangerine Citrus Sauce

Tangerine juice. Seven or eight tangerines squeezed fresh—bottled won’t give you that same thing. Thirty milliliters of honey. Cuts the sharp without making it sweet.

Arrowroot powder. Makes the sauce glossy and stays clear. Cornstarch would work but it clouds things up.

Two pork tenderloins sliced into medallions. Two and a half centimeters thick. Not thinner or they dry out before the sauce finishes.

Dijon mustard. A teaspoon. Grounds the whole thing somehow.

Sixty milliliters olive oil split between searing and the sauce base. Shallot and garlic. One small clove—don’t go overboard. White balsamic vinegar instead of regular. Less aggressive. Orange liqueur. Not optional exactly, but you could skip it if you had to. Changes the depth though.

Five sprigs fresh thyme. Dried doesn’t do it here.

Salt and pepper. Coarse salt if you have it.

How to Make Easy Dinner Pork Medallions

Get your skillet hot first. Fifteen milliliters olive oil, medium-high. Doesn’t take long. Season the medallions—salt and pepper on both sides. Don’t hold back.

Sear them. One and a half to two minutes per side. You’re not cooking them through. Just a crust. Golden. They’ll keep cooking in the sauce later.

Pull them out onto a plate. Lower the heat to medium now.

Same pan, no washing. Add the shallot and minced garlic. Stir them around for two to three minutes until they go soft but they’re not browning. This part matters—burned shallot tastes bitter and ruins everything.

Pour in the white balsamic vinegar and orange liqueur. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. All those brown bits dissolve into the sauce. That’s flavor.

Let it bubble down for about two minutes. It should smell incredible at this point.

How to Get Pork with Shallot Garlic and Arrowroot Glaze Perfect

Whisk together the tangerine juice, honey, arrowroot powder, and Dijon mustard in a bowl until smooth. No lumps in the arrowroot or it won’t thicken evenly.

Pour it into the hot skillet. Stir quickly. It’ll start to thicken almost immediately—that’s the arrowroot. Bring the whole thing to a simmer and add the fresh thyme sprigs.

Nestle the pork medallions back into the sauce. Cover loosely—you want some steam to escape. Lower the heat to low.

This is where it gets easy. Fifteen minutes. Spoon the sauce over the medallions every few minutes. Watch the sauce get glossy and thick. It coats the pork instead of pooling at the bottom.

The pork comes up to temperature gently. No tough edges. Just tender all the way through.

Pan Seared Pork Tips and Common Mistakes

Don’t skip the initial sear. That golden crust tastes different from just cooking it in the sauce. The heat matters.

The arrowroot thickens fast. If your sauce gets too thick before the pork is done, add a splash of water or more juice. Thin it out. It’ll keep thickening as it simmers.

Thyme is bright. Fresh thyme. Don’t use dried if you can help it. Or use half as much dried.

Orange liqueur—Grand Marnier works. Cointreau works. Even cheap triple sec is fine. It adds something that just tangerine juice doesn’t have on its own. Not boozy tasting. Just deeper.

The pork tenderloins vary in thickness. If yours are thinner, sear them faster and reduce the final cooking time by a couple minutes. If they’re thicker, add a few minutes. Depends on your heat and your pan honestly.

Taste the sauce before serving. Salt and pepper again. Sometimes the thyme and citrus need a hit of salt to come alive.

Pork Medallions with Tangerine Glaze

By Emma

Prep:

25 min

Cook:

25 min

Total:

50 min

Servings:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 200 ml freshly squeezed tangerine juice about 7-8 tangerines
• 12 ml honey
• 8 ml arrowroot powder
• 5 ml Dijon mustard
• 2 pork tenderloins cut into 2.5 cm thick medallions
• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 medium shallot minced
• 1 small clove garlic minced
• 30 ml olive oil for cooking shallots and garlic
• 15 ml white balsamic vinegar
• 15 ml orange liqueur
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. 1 Heat 15 ml olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. 2 Season pork medallions with salt and pepper. Sear medallions 1.5 to 2 minutes per side until golden but not fully cooked. Remove from pan, set aside.
3. 3 Lower heat to medium, add shallots and garlic to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently until softened but not browned.
4. 4 Pour in white balsamic vinegar, orange liqueur. Scrape brown bits from bottom. Let reduce 2 minutes.
5. 5 Whisk tangerine juice, honey, arrowroot powder, Dijon mustard together in bowl until smooth.
6. 6 Add this mixture to skillet. Stir quickly. Bring sauce to simmer and add fresh thyme sprigs.
7. 7 Return pork medallions to pan, nestle into sauce. Cover loosely, reduce heat to low.
8. 8 Cook gently 15 minutes, spooning sauce over medallions occasionally. Sauce will thicken, coat pork, become glossy.
9. 9 Remove thyme sprigs. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
10. 10 Serve medallions hot with pan sauce spooned over, alongside roasted baby carrots and garlic mashed potatoes.

Nutritional information

Calories

270

Protein

24g

Carbs

15g

Fat

14g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Pork Medallions Tangerine Glaze

Can I make this gluten free? It already is. Arrowroot powder instead of flour. That’s it.

How do I know when the pork is done cooking? Fifteen minutes at low heat should get it there. But cut into the thickest medallion. No pink inside. Touch it—should feel firm but not hard. Pork’s done around 63 Celsius if you have a thermometer.

Can I use regular orange juice instead of tangerine? Yeah. Tastes different though. Less bright. More standard. Tangerine’s worth squeezing fresh for.

What if I don’t have orange liqueur? Skip it. You lose some complexity but it still works. The tangerine carries it. Cognac would work too if you had it lying around.

Does the sauce thicken more as it cools? Yes. It’ll be thicker cold. So don’t panic if it seems loose at the stove.

Can I double this recipe? Sure. Just don’t crowd the pan when searing. Do it in batches. Too many medallions at once means they steam instead of sear.