Bacon-Wrapped Pork Medallions in Red Wine and Rosemary Sauce

This recipe had been saved on my favorites to make for a couple weeks now and I can't believe what I was missing.  Although I almost started a grease fire in the oven while cooking the bacon, I can say that this is the first recipe I made that made me feel like someone who KNOWS what they're doing in the kitchen.  The medallions looked absolutely gorgeous as I seared them on both sides and as I cooked them in the wonderfully smelling rosemary and wine sauce.  Every step turned out perfectly.  (I am ignoring the oven dilemma).  When it was complete, the meat was so juicy and it had absorbed so much of the wonderful tastes of the sauce.  I couldn't stop raving about what a great job I had done.  Now you go try it and rave about it yourself!

Source:  Amy's New Kitchen, adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of excess fat (mine was 2.25lbs)
sea salt
pepper
10 slices bacon, thick cut or Applewood smoked
1 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup red wine
2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Arrange bacon in a single layer on a cooling rack that is placed on top of a baking sheet with 4 sides. Bake at 400 degrees for 13 minutes. Remove from oven, blot excess grease with a paper towel and let cool on cooling rack.

Meanwhile, slice the tenderloin into 1" thick pieces. Season both sides with salt and pepper and then wrap each medallion with one slice of bacon. Secure bacon with a toothpick.

Heat oil in cast iron skillet until you see light whisps of smoke come from the oil. Sear medallions until nicely browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Feel free to do these in batches if they don't all fit in your pan. Transfer medallions to a plate.

In the same skillet over medium-high heat, pour in the wine (I used a Cabernet). Cook, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the wine has reduced to about 2-3 Tablespoons. This takes about 6-7 minutes.

Increase heat to high and add the chicken broth, rosemary and bay leaf to the reduced wine sauce. Cook until this sauce is reduced to a thicker consistency, about 3-5 minutes. Place the pork medallions back in the wine sauce, and add any juices from the plate as well. Continue cooking, about 3 minutes, to heat and cook the pork through, turning once to coat each medallion with the sauce.  (This took 10 minutes for me to cook the meat through).

Transfer to a plate, remove the toothpicks, spoon additional sauce over each piece if you like and serve immediately with your favorite sides.