Oh. My. Goodness.
My house smelled like maple heaven for an entire day with this cooking up in the kitchen. And yes, it tastes just as great at it smells! It was all I could do to keep from going in there towards dinner time and picking off the 'crispy' end pieces to snack on.
Yes, I'm that one. My mom and I are well known for tag-teaming the burnt ends at any family barbecue.
This pumpkin maple tenderloin was pretty amazing and perfectly fitting with pumpkin season and fall weather as it rolls in. I was a little skeptical at first since I'm not generally a fan of adding sweetness to my pork, but it was just the right amount of sweet and tang with the apple cider vinegar.
I used both brown sugar and stevia together since I wanted the flavors of the brown sugar and it's sweetness without quite all the sugar. But, it is just my personal preference not to swap out all of the brown sugar for sweetener.
This pork could be shredded and put in a black bean and sweet potato taco, stuffed inside a pepper with some cheese, or even just served all on it's own as I did! The possibilities here are pretty endless and I plan on doing something pretty fun and totally different with the massive amount of leftovers I have in my freezer!
I served my pork along side some fresh sautéed vegetables for a filling low carb and gluten free dinner.
Speaking of gluten free, if you're trying to go all out gluten free with this recipe, be sure that your mustard is just that - gluten free. No, not all mustard is created equal!
Crock Pot Pumpkin & Maple Pork Tenderloin
TheSkinnyFork.com
The Skinny:
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 C. Shredded Pork • Calories: 249.5 • Fat: 9.4 g • Carb: 5.8 g • Fiber: 0.6 g • Protein: 33.6 g • Sugar: 5.1 g • Sodium: 84.6 mg
Ingredients:
3 Lbs. Pork Tenderloin
3/4 C. Pumpkin Puree (Not pie filling!)
1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Sweetener (I used Stevia in the Raw.)
1 Tbsp. Spicy Brown Mustard (You could also use Dijon.)
1 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Tsp. Maple Extract
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Directions:
Sear the pork loin off in a large and very hot skillet and toss it into the bottom of a slow cooker.
You're not trying to cook it through, just brown the outside to lock in all the flavors and juices.
Mix together the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.
Pour the pumpkin maple mixture over the top of the pork loin.
Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high.
You can really cook this for longer if need be, the meat only gets more tender the more it cooks. Just be sure not to burn it! Mine was just falling apart by the end of the day.
Serve the pork as you desire.
I pulled mine apart slightly and served it with some sautéed local vegetables.
