These tasty Balsamic-Glazed Pork Tea Sandwiches make a delicious savory for afternoon tea. Balsamic-Glazed Pork Tea Sandwiches pictured with Browned Butter–Poached Lobster Canapés.
Balsamic-Glazed Pork Tea Sandwiches
Serves: 18
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2¼ teaspoons salt, divided
- 1¼ cups whole buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 (12- to 16-ounce) boneless pork loin filet*
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 8 large collard green leaves
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°. Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan. Spray paper with baking spray with flour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
- Make a well in center of cornmeal mixture. Add buttermilk mixture to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until combined. Carefully pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes. Using parchment paper as handles, remove cornbread from pan. Let cool completely on a wire rack, approximately 20 minutes.
- Decrease oven setting to 375°.
- In a 3-quart oval Dutch oven, sprinkle pork with remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
- In a small saucepan, combine pomegranate juice, vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Immediately pour over pork. Cover with lid.
- Bake until a food thermometer inserted in pork registers 145°, 30 to 40 minutes, basting pork with pomegranate juice mixture every 15 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, reserving juices in Dutch oven. Let pork stand for 10 minutes.
- On stovetop, bring pan juices to a low boil over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to ½ cup, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using a sharp knife, cut out and discard stem from collard green leaves.
- In a medium skillet, heat butter over medium-low heat. Add collard leaves, pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook until collards are tender, 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove collard leaves from skillet. When cool enough to handle, cut leaves into 18 (6×1-inch) strips.
- Cut 7 (¼-inch-thick) slices from pork. (Reserve any remaining pork for another use.)
- Using a long serrated bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, trim and discard edges from cornbread, creating a 9×6-inch rectangle. Cut cornbread in half horizontally, creating 2 thin layers. Place bottom half of cornbread on a large cutting board, cut side up, and top with a single layer of pork slices, trimming pork to fit, if needed. Brush pork with reduced pan juices. Top pork with a single layer of apple slices, trimming to fit. Cover with top half of cornbread, cut side down.
- Using bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, cut whole sandwich lengthwise into 2 (9×3inch) rectangles and cut each rectangle into 9 (3×1-inch) finger sandwiches. Wrap each sandwich with a collard green strip, trimming to fit, if necessary, and place on a serving dish. Serve immediately.
Notes
Cornbread can be made earlier in the day. Let cool completely before wrapping well with foil or plastic wrap. Store at room temperature.
*We used Hormel Always Tender Original Pork Loin Filet.
*We used Hormel Always Tender Original Pork Loin Filet.
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