The act of glazing a pig part seems inherently dirty to me. Come to think of it, glazing just about anything seems like a green light for utterances not suitable for the kids, grandma, or anyone else with a delicate sensibility in the kitchen. I'd never glazed so much as a doughnut hole before trying this recipe, but going forward, I will be heading up the Department of Glazing's international summit in Heidelberg, and booking a variety of glazing's most outspoken practitioners as keynote speakers. Well... At the very least, I'm going to make this dish again because it was real good.
The recipe arrives via America's Test Kitchen, which is hosted by mildly cantankerous bow-tie enthusiast Christopher Kimball. I once had the honor of engineering mic levels for him when he was interviewed on the radio, which obviously was not half as exciting as the time I did the same for Nigella Lawson. (She smiled at me through the studio glass and I felt my complexion go beet red. The producer teased me about it for the rest of the week.)
America's Test Kitchen is a perfect example of why I prefer public television
cooking shows to those aired on the Food Network: There's more to learn from the PBS variety. Most of the Food Network's "In the Kitchen" series seems more devoted to cultivating the hosts' personalities, zooming in on their boobs (if available), or endlessly tarting up their studio sets. With the exception of Alton Brown and Giada DeLaurentis (but only when her mom guest-hosts), FoodNet shows tend to try my patience more than provide any inspiration or enlightenment. Public Television, as part of the east coast-Jewish-liberal-elitist-socialist-Obamacare plot, is decidedly more low budget, and less focused on selling something (whether it be a product, a lifestyle, or a line of shitty mall cookware), and Kimball is sort of the king of that realm. He regularly earns my attention and respect, whimsical neckwear and all.
But back to the pig parts. Glazes are sweet by nature, and this one is no exception. Mercifully, however, there is no Karo Syrup involved -- If there were, you would be reading some other blog right now because that stuff gives me the creeps. But the expected accents of a traditional glaze are all accounted for in the ingredient rundown: cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, a splash of booze, and a wonderfully seedy, whole grain mustard. All of that balances out the sweetness, appearing here courtesy of pure maple syrup and molasses. Bust out the digital meat thermometer and get to it! Here's the glazed pork tenderloin recipe. [Requires free registration with an active email address, but so far, ATK has not pawned off my digits to any advertisers/spammers that I am aware of. I'm not so sure I'd expect such admirable restraint from Rachael Ray's marketing team.]
