Pork Tenderloin Pseudo Cinghiale

If you can get a wild boar (cinghiale) tenderloin, use it. Otherwise a good domestic hog tenderloin will do.

About half an hour to an hour before cooking, rub it with a mix of:

Ground Cinnamon
Ground Allspice
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Lavender salt
dried thyme
a crushed clove of garlic
finely chopped bay leaf.

Dice a small onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery. Rehydrate a handful of dried wild mushrooms.

In a hot skillet, melt some butter and gently fry the onion. After a minute or two add the carrots and celery. After another couple of minutes, add the pork and brown it on all sides. When the last side comes up, add the drained mushrooms (reserving the juice). Add a few juniper berries. Stir it up.

Add a generous amount of dry white wine, and a good splash of balsamico. Throw in some fresh thyme, the strained mushroom juice, and a couple of bay leaves. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover.

Meanwhile, toast a handful of pine nuts. When they are done, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with gin.

When the meat has simmered for half an hour, add the pine nuts with their gin, a handful of sultanas, a handful of chopped pitted prunes and a generous splash of dry marsala. Let the pork cook to an internal temperature of 150 or 160 degrees (normally I stop pork at 140, but you want the more done flavor here).

Remove pork to a cutting board, cover with foil and turn up heat on sauce. Let it thicken. Thinly slice pork and serve covered with sauce. Serve with a good dry red wine (I served Nerello del Bastardo, of which I have spoken in length, I believe), a simple salad, and the roasted potatoes mentioned below.

Finish your meal with a shot of Rebel Yell bourbon, a shot of grappa, or a shot of nocino. Yum.