Spanish Seared Pork Bites with buttery Fried Apples has quickly become a weeknight staple in our home. Bite size pieces of pork tenderloin are coated in a Spanish inspired dry rub, sautéed quickly in oil until tender and juicy, then tossed with lemon juice, honey, olive oil, and fresh oregano.
Pork Bites are delicious all on their own, served as a quick, light supper or tapas-style dish. But, they are positively mouthwatering when eaten with green apples that have been sautéed in butter and brown sugar.
Pork Bites are a Super Quick Way to Cook Pork Tenderloin
Let me first say that I love, love, love pork tenderloin. When cooked right, it's tender, flavorful, and juicy. It's also conveniently boneless, and can be roasted whole, cut into medallions, or cut into pork bites and cooked in about 8 minutes.
It's one of my favorite things to have in our refrigerator.
Just to keep it real, I want to point out that a whole pork tenderloin only takes about 20 minutes to cook.
Cutting it up into bite size pieces and cooking them in a skillet gets the job done faster. But, it's a relative kind of faster and doesn't save you that much time.
Still. There are other super good reasons to chop up that tenderloin into cute little bite-size pieces:
- Cooking small pieces of pork tenderloin at high heat creates a crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside situation in every single bite.
- Cutting pork tenderloin into small-ish pieces means that every bite is completely coated in spices. More spices = more flavor.
- Pork bites are a big dinner kind of meal, a light lunch kind of meal, or a small-plate-tapas kind of meal. It really just matters how many you serve per person.
- Bite size pieces are fun, casual, weeknight fare AND the perfect party food. No need for knives and perfectly self portioning. The hungry people will take a lot and the not so hungry people can take a bite or two.
How to Make Pork Bites in 4 Easy Steps:
#1. Cut a pork tenderloin into pieces that are about the size of chicken nuggets. Coat the pork bites in a mix of coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper and set them aside for a bit so they have time to absorb all those delicious flavors.
#2. Add some lemon juice, honey, garlic, olive oil, and fresh oregano to a bowl and stir. This simple, flavorful vinaigrette will coat the pork with bright, fresh, sweet and sour flavor.
Trust me, trust me, trust me on this step. So. Good.
#3. Cook the pork bites in some olive oil on one side, then the other, until the outside of the pork is all brown and slightly crispy. This whole process takes 6-8 minutes.
#4. Toss the hot pork bites with the honey-lemon-garlic vinaigrette.
How To Make Fried Apples: Apples, and Butter, and Brown Sugar, oh my!
Pork and apples, bread and butter, cake and ice cream. Some things are meant to be served together.
In this situation, we've got tart, green apples cooked in butter and brown sugar until they're so soft and buttery they almost melt on your tongue.
The combination of sweet, buttery apples and spicy, savory, juicy pieces of pork is extraordinary. And the whole process couldn't be simpler:
#1. Heat a bit of butter and oil in the same skillet you used to cook the pork bites. Add slices of green apples and cook them just until they start to brown. Then add more butter and some brown sugar...
#2. And cook the whole delicious mess until the apples are all soft and saucy, and mmmmmmmmmm.
That's it. Scoop all those sweet, buttery apples onto a plate with the pork bites and dinner is served.
How to Serve Pork Bites
Pork bites are just as delicious served at room temperature as they are hot from the pan. This fact makes them super convenient.
In fact, they might be even better served at room temperature. This means you can cook the pork bites, set them aside, cook the apples, and not have to worry about keeping the pork warm while you do.
The fact that they're so good at room temperature also makes them ideal to serve as a starter or as a part of a buffet-style spread.
What to Serve with Pork Bites
Besides fried apples, pork bites need little else besides a vegetable and perhaps some bread or flaky buttermilk biscuits.
My favorite vegetables to serve with this dish is green beans and Israeli Salad. Another delicious option is to serve pork bites with crispy fried potatoes. Pork and potatoes are not only a fantastic pairing, the potatoes will soak up any of the sauce left on the plate.
Pork Bits Make a Great Camping Recipe!
Pork bites and fried apples can easily be prepared on a camping stove or in a cast iron skillet over an open campfire.
Put all the spices in a zip top bag before you leave for your camping trip to save space. You can do the same thing with the lemon juice, honey, garlic, and 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Looking for a great camping cocktail to go with these pork bites? Check out this list of 21 great cocktails for camping!
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe, leave a comment, or take a picture and tag it @alittleandalot on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
Spanish Seared Pork Bites with Fried Apples
Spanish Seared Pork Bites with buttery Fried Apples has quickly become a weeknight staple in our home. Bite size pieces of pork tenderloin are coated in a Spanish inspired dry rub, sautéed quickly in oil until tender and juicy, then tossed with lemon juice, honey, olive oil, and fresh oregano.
Pork Bites are delicious all on their own, served as a quick, light supper or tapas-style dish. But, they are positively mouthwatering when eaten with green apples that have been sautéed in butter and brown sugar.
Ingredients
For the Pork Bites:
- 1 ½ pounds (24 ounces) pork tenderloin
- 3 teaspoons ground coriander
- 3 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon cayenne (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (1.5 fluid ounces) lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons (63 grams) honey
- 1 tablespoon (8.6 grams) minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons (1.5 fluid ounces + 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ¼ cup (13 g)rams minced fresh oregano
For the apples:
- 1 tablespoon (.5 fluid ounce) extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 tablespoon (20 grams ) + 3 tablespoons (60 grams) butter
- 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, cored, and cut into slices that are about ¾-inch thick (toss with a teaspoon of lemon juice to keep from browning)
- ¼ cup (50 grams) packed brown sugar
- About ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Cut the pork into 1 ½ inch pieces - about the size of chicken nuggets. Add to a medium size bowl.
- Add the coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, and salt to a small bowl, stir to combine, and dump it over the pork. Toss the pork in the spice mixture so that each pieces is coated. Let the pork sit at room temp for 30 min or up to 6 hours in the refrigerator.
- Add the lemon juice, honey, garlic, 3 tablespoons (45ml) extra virgin olive oil, and oregano to another small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoon oil (30ml) to a large skillet and set it over medium-high heat. When the oil is just barely starting to smoke, add the meat to the pan, spreading it out into a single layer. Cook, without moving the pork until the underside of the pork is browned and the meat releases from the skillet, about 3-4 minutes.
- Turn the pieces over and cook until the pork bites are cooked through and browned all over - another 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the honey-oil mixture over the pork bites. Toss to coat, then dump the whole thing onto a plate or serving platter. Let sit at room temp while you cook the apples.
- Wipe out the skillet and set it back over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) of oil and 1 tablespoon (20g) of butter to the skillet.
- When the butter has melted, add the apples. Cook, stirring frequently, until they start to brown, 4 - 5 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar and remaining 3 tablespoon of butter and stir to mix. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes longer, until the apples are tender but not yet falling apart. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt.
- Scoop the apples onto the tray with the pork bites and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 623Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 625mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 8gSugar: 35gProtein: 46g
Liz says
My dad loves this kind of recipe! I shared it with my mom so they can make it more often!
FEL!X says
Absolutely gorgeous!
See my version on my blog:
https://felix.kitchen/2021/07/04/filetwuerfel-schweinsfilet-spanisch-zitrone-honig-vinaigrette/
There I also inform my readers about your RV and linked to your Travel Schedule. Could not find any email address to ask for the copyright of 2 pics, but I think it’s OK for you?!
Best regards from far-east,
Felix
RebeccaBlackwell says
Hi Felix! Yes - it's fine that you shared those photos with your audience. Thanks for letting me know!
FEL!X says
Thank you for this yummy inspiration!
Jere Cassidy says
I love pork with apples, it's always a good flavor combo and this dish sounds amazing with the spices.