Apple Topped Pork Medallions with Calvados Cream Sauce
Years ago, I served these Apple Topped Pork Medallions with Calvados Cream Sauce on Christmas Eve. But this gourmet entree is easy enough for a weeknight!
Fanning out the sauteed apples and drizzling the Pork Tenderloin Medallions with a luscious cream sauce makes this a company-worthy entree!
Why You Must Make
- For years, this pork medallions recipe was our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.
- It’s easy to make, yet elegant enough for a special occasion or holiday.
- The Calvados cream sauce pushes this recipe over the top!
As a child, I was more likely to have a steaming bowl of oyster stew. My three sisters and I would be buzzing with excitement around our dining room table in anticipation of midnight Mass and Santa’s arrival. We relished this special meal and my mom would buy oyster crackers, another once-a-year treat. With no oyster fans besides me in this house, and beef on tap for Christmas, this entree hit the mark perfectly for Christmas Eve.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Butter (salted is fine), Sugar
- Golden Delicious Apples – Peel, Core, and Slice
- Pork Tenderloin – Have the butcher trim if there is silverskin. Slice into 1-inch pieces and pound into medallions.
- Shallots – Chopped
- Fresh Thyme – Strip leaves off stems
- Calvados – An apple brandy, another variety of apple brandy can be substituted
- Heavy Cream – 36% butterfat
- Apple Cider – Adds more apple flavor to the cream sauce
How to Make
- In a skillet, cook the apples and sugar in butter until soft and golden. Remove.
- Add more butter to the skillet, then cook the pork medallions until browned. Remove.
- Cook the shallots in butter, then add thyme and Calvados.
- Scrape up browned bits and allow Calvados to reduce to a glaze.
- Stir in cream and cider and cook until thickens slightly. Taste and season.
- Reheat the apples.
- Arrange pork on each plate, garnish with apples, and top with cream sauce.
Recipe Tips
- Use the flat side of a meat mallet or even a rolling pin to pound the pork into ¼-½ medallions. Often meat mallets have a “toothed” side that’s used to tenderize tougher cuts of meat. You will not need to use that side.
- Make sure to season the pork before cooking so the flavor is absorbed into the meat instead of just staying on the surface.
- Cook the pork just a minute or two per side to get some nice browning.
- If you want to check the internal temperature, the medallions should reach 145°. The pork may be slightly pink inside, but not raw looking. Pink is fine, but raw is not.
- If your medallions are tough, it’s because they were overcooked. Pork tenderloin is a lean cut of pork and overcooking will make it dry.
- Deglaze the pan with Calvados, a French apple brandy. Alcohol is a flavor enhancer and most of the alcohol will evaporate as it cooks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start by slicing your uncooked pork tenderloin into 1-inch slices. Place them on a cutting board and pound with the flat side of a meat mallet until they’re ¼ to ½-inch thick. Then cook as directed. Many meat mallets have a “toothed” side for tenderizing tougher cuts. You do not need to tenderize this cut of pork.
You should visibly see the sauce thicken. Then dip a spoon in the sauce. Use your finger to swipe a line down the back of the spoon. If the line remains, your sauce has thickened. If not, continue cooking and reducing the sauce until it thickens a bit more.
It’s a French Apple Brandy that comes from Normandy. Alcohol is a flavor enhancer so adding some brandy to the cream sauce makes it even more delicious. And as it simmers, much of the alcohol evaporates.
You May Also Like
- Steakhouse Mushroom Pork Loin Medallions from From Valerie’s Kitchen
- Marinated Pork Chops
- Pork Chops Dijonnaise
- Apple Mustard Pork Tenderloin
- Easy Pork Scaloppine
- More Entree Recipes
Apple Topped Pork Medallions with Calvados Cream Sauce
An easy, restaurant-worthy entree!
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch slices and pounded into medallions
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ cup apple brandy, I used Calvados
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup apple cider
Instructions
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet.
- Add the apples and sugar and cook over medium-high heat till golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Melt 2 more tablespoons of butter in the skillet. Season pork with salt and pepper and saute over medium-high heat, till cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add the last tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Cook shallots over medium heat til soft, about 2 minutes. Add thyme, then Calvados.
- Scrape up browned bits and allow Calvados to reduce to a glaze.
- Stir in cream and cider and cook till thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Reheat the apples.
- Arrange pork on each plate, garnish with apples, and top with cream sauce.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 516Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 129mgSodium: 153mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 5gSugar: 22gProtein: 11g
40 Comments on “Apple Topped Pork Medallions with Calvados Cream Sauce”
That cream sauce taste this pork recipe over the top. Looks so cozy and comforting, especially around the change of seasons.
That boozy creamy sauce sounds really intriguing!
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
Pork tenderloin is what I usually have in the freezer so this will come up on my menu plan soon. Pork and apples are a match made in heaven. Interesting trivia: Health Canada (same as your FDA) says the internal temperature of pork tenderloin should be 160° F! We like our pork on the pink side so I generally cook it somewhere between your guidelines and ours!
I made this and it is so delicious, even my kids love it!
Such an interesting recipe. Love the flavor combo here. I just saved the recipe. Will give it a try. Looks really delicious!
Liz, sorry I missed you at the recent reunion. I have fixed the Apple Topped Pork Medallions with Calvados Cream Sauce a number of times for visitors to the house. It is one of your best efforts, I always get rave reviews. To me the star of that recipe is fresh Thyme and be generous with the whole cream and apple brandy!!
Bill loves that pork dish, too! It was a Christmas Eve tradition for a number of years. It sounds like there may be another reunion in a few years—I enjoyed meeting all the Berg cousins. Lots of funny stories about the old days visiting Bloomer. Hope we can cross paths again one day. Thanks for saying hello.
This is so interesting! The classic side for pork in Greece since ancient times, before potatoes came to Europe, has always been quinces, that are similar (less sweet of course) to apples! And since we love the quinces-pork combo, we know we’re gonna love this one as well! Did you ever try cooking with quinces in savory recipes Liz? (they’re in season now as well)
Sending you our love,
Mirella and Panos
I always like to try out my new pans with grilled cheese !! Its fast easy and you know right off how bad stuff will stick to it 🙂
Chicken stir fry with lots of veggies and duck sauce.
I would make chicken fried steak for my husband.
I would make a spinach and cheese omelet.
Made this last night and it was amazing g
Oh, I’m so glad, Kitty! It’s really a lovely entree! xo
When I made this I was visiting my niece and her family outside of DC. We always look forward to cooking together. I saw this in the middle of the night and had forwarded it to her. Recipe surfing in the night . All of her kids love love loved it. We are finding that at least one of your recipes is always on the list for our visits.
Thanks so much, Kitty! You made my day!!! xo
id make some homemade pies i know the pan is big enough id cook some coconut custard in it
This is a great line of cookware, very easy to use. Our grocery store regularly has pork tenderloins buy one get one free. I’ll buy a few to stash in the freezer and one to make this delicious dish.
I love apples cooked with pork, but it’s your sauce that takes this dish over the top. Scrumptious!
I would make sourdough french toast.