Pork tenderloin medallions are pan fried until tender and golden. They are smothered with a rich morel cream sauce that has a hint of Calvados.
To prepare the pork, trim off any excess fat and silverskin. Then cut it into about 1" -inch thick medallions. Lightly press down on the pork just to flatten and even it out a bit. Place the medallions onto a cooling rack and let them temper while you soak the mushrooms.
Soak the dried morel mushrooms in hot water for about 15 minutes. You can use any mix of wild mushrooms for this dish, but the morels add a nice, earthy flavor. Once the mushrooms are cleaned and softened, give them a rough chop and set aside.
To prepare your mise en place, finely mince the shallots and sage. Measure out the chicken stock, Calvados, cream and Dijon mustard and set aside.
To cook the pork, season both sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a stainless-steel fry pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan has been properly heated, add the oil, followed by the pork.
Once you add the pork, turn the heat down to medium to medium-low. Use the flip often method to cook the pork, flipping after each minute. Continue to flip the pork until it is cooked to your liking, which should take about 5 to 7 minutes.
Note: it is okay if the pork is a tiny bit pink. The pink around the sides will continue to cook due to the carry over cooking. Once done, cover with vented foil and let rest while you prepare the sauce.
To prepare the sauce, place the pan over medium-low heat. Check to see that there is enough oil in the pan. If not, add a touch more oil and then sauté the shallots until soft and golden.
Next, carefully deglaze with the calvados and flambé to burn off the alcohol.
SAFETY NOTE: when using spirits that have a high alcohol content, such as brandy, it should never be added directly from the bottle. The flame from the pan can enter the bottle and cause it to explode. And MAKE SURE TO STAND BACK before adding the alcohol. The flame can be quite high.
For safety reasons, the alcohol should be added away from the heat source or with the flame off. Then turn the heat to high and carefully tilt the pan a bit to ignite the alcohol. A gas lighter can also be used to do this.
Once the alcohol has burned off, reduce the Calvados by about half. Add the mushrooms and stir. Next, add the stock. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Let simmer and reduce the sauce by about half. Do not let it reduce down to a sauce-like consistency. This is because you will be adding cream, which will thicken the sauce considerably.
Once the stock has reduced, add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce this by about half. If you happen to over-reduce the cream and the sauce is too thick, simply add a touch more stock to bring it back to the right consistency.
Once you reach the desired consistency, add the Dijon and sage. Taste for seasoning.
To finish, add the pork back to the pan. Turn each piece to coat it in the sauce. Add any pan drippings to the pan and turn the pork one last time to ensure it is heated through and coated in the sauce. Then place the pork onto a plate and pour the sauce over top. Serve immediately.