The planning for tonight’s dinner was turned upside down when my wife and I were kayaking up a stream this afternoon. She had one of our dogs in her kayak with her, and they were probably thirty feet ahead of me, just around the bend…and I heard a yell of, “Are these…Grapes???” Sure enough, she’d found vines growing red and white grape looking things. Knowing better than to just eat things you find in the wild (so many delicious foods have deadly dopplegangers), she started to research it, and we decided that we were going to bring some home and research them further before taking the plunge and cooking with them.
We learned that wild grapes do indeed have a celebrity lookalike called Moonseed (Menispermum Canadense). That certainly made us nervous at first…but glad we didn’t just eat them on the trail. More researched revealed that she had indeed steered clear of the vile Moonseed and found wild grapes! I’m frankly not surprised give that she has found Huckleberries (not Dogberries) in Montana and Bilberries in Switzerland…I definitely muttered, “Here we go again,” under my breath when she found these, but to her credit, they were amazing. They had thicker flesh and much richer flavour than domestic grapes, and were perfect for a sauce that would complement pork or Wild Game Meat.
We served these with Grilled Mushrooms (recipe coming soon) and boiled corn that we picked up from a farm stand (not wild picked) on our way home from our adventure. I’d imagine that this would go very well over Mashed Celery Root, mashed potatoes, or long grain wild rice and any grilled vegetables too.
Time: 35 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Pork Tenderloin
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- For the sauce:
- Wild Grapes (or domestic and seedless if you haven’t got wild grapes)
- Cracked black peppercorn
- Butter (about 1/2 tablespoon)
- Flour (about 1/2 tablespoon)
- Water
- Optional: Sugar (if you prefer a sweeter sauce to a tart one)
Method:
- Heat your grill
- Give your pork a quick olive oil spray on all sides, and then sprinkle a little salt on top and bottom.
- Place your pork on the grill. Let it go for about 5 minutes, and then turn about 90 degrees every 5 minutes. After about 20 minutes, it should reach an internal temperature of about 150 degrees F and should have some nice charring on it. When those two things are both done, you’re all set.
- While the pork is cooking however, you should turn your attention to your sauce!
- Wash your grapes, cut them in half, and remove the seeds (skip this part if using seedless grapes)
- Melt your butter in a small saucepan, and when it’s melted, turn the heat to medium low, and add your grapes. Sautee for a few minutes.
- Then, add your cracked black pepper, and stir to combine.
- Next, sprinkle in your flour, and stir until it’s absorbed, and let simmer for about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in some water, and stir to combine. This will give you your deep purple color, and the sauce will thicken while the pork finishes grilling.
- When your pork is done, remove it from the grill, and let it sit for about 5 minutes before cutting in.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
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