Pork Loin with Cherry Sauce

What is this?  A new post?

It's been about a year of working at a real 9 to 5 (okay 8 to 4, which is even worse), husband losing his job then having total knee replacement surgery and all sorts of other fun stuff, but I now have about 10 minutes to post a new recipe I came up with last week!!

Oh wait... it's 15 minutes past my bedtime.  Let's see if I can copy and paste this before I pass out...

Pork Loin with Cherry Sauce

2-3 lb. piece of pork loin

apple juice

mesquite smoking chips

dry rub-

1 C brown sugar

1 T kosher salt

1 t ground ginger

2 t granulated garlic

2 t granulated onion

2 t dry mustard

1 t crushed red pepper

1 1/2 t cumin

1 1/2 t paprika

1 t dried thyme

1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper

Mix together well. Rub generous amount all over meat. Let stand for about an hour. (There will be rub left over. Save in a ziplock baggie or tightly sealed container for another time.)

Set up grill for indirect heat, pouring apple juice into drip pan. Or not.  Doesn't really matter. Prepare mesquite wood chips for however you prefer to grill smoke. I used a smoke box this time, but I usually just soak them in water for a while then throw them directly onto the flames/coals. Cook meat over indirect heat, turning once, for about an hour. Maintain grill temperature at about 400°.

When cooked to desired doneness, remove to plate, tent with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes. Prepare sauce.

sauce-

1 t olive oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 C cherry preserves

2 T dijon mustard

1 T balsamic

1 t dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, saute shallot in oil until soft. Turn down to low and add remaining ingredients, stirring until thoroughly combined and heated through.

Slice meat to desired thickness and serve with sauce.