Bourbon Pork Tenderloin Slow Cooker

Servings: 4 to 6

To complement the naturally sweet flavors in a pork tenderloin, these baked beans are loaded with plenty of aromatics, as well as the woodsy, earthy tones of bourbon. Just remember: the better the bourbon, the more sophisticated its flavor in the beans. Don't use the $75 bottle, but skip the cheap hooch with its metallic tang.

Ingredients

2 15-oz. cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium Cubanelle pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup bourbon
3 Tbs. molasses
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. packed light brown sugar
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dry mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1-lb. pork tenderloins
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Stir the beans, Cubanelle pepper, onion, tomato paste, bourbon, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, oregano, dry mustard, and 1 tsp. salt in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Lightly season the pork tenderloins with salt and pepper and nestle the tenderloins into the bean mixture, coating their exposed surfaces with some of the bean mixture. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Stir in half of the cilantro and season the beans with salt and pepper to taste. Slice the pork into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and serve with the baked beans sprinkled with the remaining cilantro.

Save to Recipe Box

Add Recipe Note

Saved

Add to List

Add Recipe Note

Ingredient Spotlight

Reviews (3 reviews)

DonBishop | 12/13/2020

Easy? Yes. Beans are flavorful, and although tender, the pork is bland. The beans were very wet (they don't start out that way), as another reviewer stated, so I added a slurry of corn starch and Worcestershire sauce to thicken it up. Problem solved. Will be serving the leftover pork with a dry spice rub in Cuban sandwiches with the beans as a side.
FredCo | 02/24/2020

I was excited to try this recipe because it offered a different take on pork tenderloin, my favourite cut of pork. The results were excellent! The beans were super tasty and the pork was fall apart fork tender.

Two comments: The beans had more liquid than illustrated in the photo, so I would recommend increasing the quantity of beans used by about a third. Also, the pork was a tad grey. Perhaps browning in the pan before adding the beans would improve this.

I'm definitely going to make this again in the future, so I will report back.
Krispie | 02/09/2019

This was sooooo easy to put together and the fact that it didn'tneeedtocook all day was ideal because I forgot to start it in the morning. I was not home for dinner that night but my husband said it was very tasty. I will definately make again.