Beer-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

How's everybody doing?  I can't believe it's already Friday!  This week just flew by! 

I've been grilling more than ever, and pork seems to be the protein we've been working with the most lately.  I haven't marinated anything in forever, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do so.  My fridge was pretty bare, but I managed to scrounge some essentials: beer, soy sauce, and ginger.  I also picked some jalapenos from my garden and threw those in there for a nice little kick.  Add some sugar for sweetness, and we're well on our way to flavor town!

Ingredients:

1 lb. pork tenderloin
1/2 cup soy sauce
12 oz. bottle of beer (I used a Falls City Pale Ale - one of our new favorite beers!)
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon molasses
1 & 1/2 T fresh ginger, grated
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

Clean the tenderloin of any silverskin or excess fat. 

In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, beer, sugar, molasses, ginger, and jalapeno.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Place the tenderloin in a shallow pan (taller than the tenderloin) and cover with marinade.  Cover and place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat a grill to medium high heat.  Grill the tenderloin to desired doneness, about 2-3 minutes per side (assuming you turn it on all 4 sides and not just 2).

Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.  Serve with fresh vegetables or side of your choice!  We were both too tired to go to the store, so we settled on a can of green bean we had in the pantry - so NOT the same as fresh vegetables!

This was definitely a tasty little meal!  Definitely something you could leave to marinate in the morning and just quickly grill off once you get home from work/school! 

Hope you all have a great week =)

Ginger Soy Grilled Chicken

This past weekend I made Andy come with me to watch the Julie & Julia film. Let's just say he felt a little emasculated after it was all said and done. Me, on the other hand, can totally relate to the movie and I thought it was rather cute. Kind of made me think of one day publishing an Asian-Fusion cookbook for Americans. Really, I think there's a market for it. How many people pack into Asian/Chinese buffets every single day? Tons! And that's not even the best part of Asian-inspired cuisine! There's such a range and such a flavor in Asian dishes that I don't think it gets enough credit.

That's exactly why I'm posting this dish. This is by far, the best way to cook chicken, in my opinion. The ginger, the soy, they mix to make just a delicate and delicious balance of flavors.


Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken thighs (about 10)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup mirin or 1/4 cup sake (I put in both)
2 cloves chopped garlic
4 tablespoons grated/minced garlic
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (you can buy them that way or you can quickly saute them in a pan to get them hot and voila! they're toasted!)
freshly ground black pepper

This recipe is absolutely fool-proof! If you like a different part of the chicken, be my guest, but for those of you that are always scared of drying out chicken or cooking it for too long, chicken thighs are ALWAYS your best bet! It's practically impossible to dry them out so they're perfect!

Just mix all ingredients in a big enough tub to cover the chicken and let sit in refrigerator for about 6 to 8 hours, or leave in overnight so the chicken and the marinade can become one! Osmosis is your friend!

When chicken is ready, heat a grill to medium heat and cook until cooked through. Like I said, it's practically impossible to dry out chicken thighs, so really all you're worried about now is burning the chicken, so watch the grill with a keen eye!


Enjoy!