Pork with Morel-Calvados Sauce

And i still have a few morels left from my west coast trip last year. Definatly on my to do list. Thanks again for such a great idea.

http://rouxbe.com/recipes/559

haha, that's funny! Well this looks like a major improvement on mine! I sure wished wild mushrooms were easier to find in Ontario, they are one of my favorite ingredients and I'm also quite interested to experience the effect the mustard has on the sauce. I guess I'll have to aim for a yearly sabbatical to BC :-)

I found Morel mushrooms at my local store. They were 8 bucks for about 6 ounces!! My wife hates mushrooms and she thought the sauce was divine. Very simple and yet it is definitely restaurant quality. Will continue to make this.

I made this last evening, and it was great. I couldn't find morels, so I used a mix of wild mushrooms that did have at the store. Honestly, it was great. We had a Merlot with it, a Merlot that was a bit heaver than most. The tiny bit of mustard in the sauce, matched the Merlot perfectly. I'll bet our new president didn't have as good meal!

I love the sound of this sauce, but two of the three people I'm making it for are allergic to mushrooms. Could anyone suggest an alternative? I could just leave out the mushrooms, but I'm afraid it might miss a big part of the flavour. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

There are really no substitutions for mushrooms. They are unique - that is why they add the flavor they do. Though it obviously won't be the same, try making the sauce without the mushrooms. For added texture and flavor, you might want to top the pork medallions with caramelized onions before you pour the sauce over top. Here's a recipe for Caramelized Onions http://rouxbe.com/recipes/217/preview Good luck!

Hi Dawn, Thanks for getting back to me, I appreciate it. I rather expected you to say that there isn't anything that can stand in for mushrooms. I'll try your suggestion with the caramelized onions. Thanks, I love the site!

What about using regular Brandy (made from grapes) in place of Calvados (made from apples)? Another option is to substitute the calvados with Madeira or Marsala wine (no flambe required!) which I have used in another sauce that's very similar to this with great sucess.

Ok, ok, maybe I should have posted this comment first but its too late for that now :-) If you’re looking for some way to justify having another fairly pricy spirit on hand for cooking, I’ve used Calvados to deglaze pan drippings from roast turkey and chicken. Takes pan gravy to a whole new level!

Thanks Patrick. Love the Madeira or Marsala ideas. Would also work with wine so don't worry to much. Calvados adds a unique flavor to this dish wish is great but it's not cheap unless you can find the small bottles of it.

i made this at home and wow was it good but i had to make some changes. instead of using calvados i used brandy and it worked! I'm kinda new to cooking with alcohol because i wont touch the stuff but it burns off so i tryed it and it was awesome. I hope one day to be a chef thank you for helping me get one step closer to my goal. :D ~Paige~

Living in Manila, I couldn't find Morel mushroom or Calvados (or may be I didn't try hard enough) I substituted with fresh shitake mushroom and used Cognac. The outcome was still very good. My husband raved about it!! As a side dish I served "Hominy" (corn kernels soak in lye then rinsed , toasted with butter, salt and pepper) Amazingly , Hominy goes very well with this dish!!

WOW, This was my first recipe from this site. I have a family of 7 with 5 growing boys. I made this and substituted Baby Bellas in place of the morels since I can't get the morels where I live. Everyone loved it. My wife and I are making plans to have a bed and breakfast once the boys are out of the house. This will definitely be on the menu. For a side dish I roasted some garlic and added them to mashed potatoes. It was a great compliment to the dish especially when you add just a little of the sauce on top of the potatoes

So many great B&B recipes on Rouxbe. We catered to 250,000 people in the film industry so had a VERY large test kitchen :-) And... with a busy family life, you should really check out the moist heat cooking lessons in the Cooking School and learn about combination cooking for braised & stewed dishes. Will make your life easier. Start here with the fundamentals: http://rouxbe.com/school/sections/187/objectives Just a friendly suggestion. Cheers,

I would like to see suggested side dishes with the main course meals. It would be very helpful to beginners like me. Thanks Dennis

Hoping to get to side pairings and wine pairings in the very near future.

In the recipe, it says to set the pork medallions on a rack to let them "temper." What is tempering meat? Letting come to room temp?

Great questions Dennis. I've attached a Drill-down from the Rouxbe Cooking School to help others. In short, yes, it simply means to bring the meat to room temperature for more even cooking.

Thanks Joe. I really appreciate your response. And I must say, this is my favorite food website. I've been telling all my friends about it. I just love the video recipes. I I've learned so much. Even how to pronounce mise en place (That's mice in place, isn't it?) Just kidding. DK

I tried this recipe this last weekend for my family (my daughter and grandkids came up). It was fantastic. I did substitute some things, like 1" pork chops from Costco for the loin, and button mushrooms for the morels. But other wise the food was great. Everyone raved about that sauce. I had broiled, fresh asparagas (brushed with olive oil and seasoned with Lawry's, cooked for 11 miinutes, turned half-way thru,) and baked potato. What a winner!

yummy but i dident like cuz i am a vegitarian

Wow it is so good, Dawn thanks!!! It is really superb,Can I do it also with beef? Never stop giving us this kind recipes. thanks to the tean behind cams also.

Yes absolutely you can do this with beef - good idea...even chicken or veal would be tasty. Glad you liked it Marsel :-)

I know - a sad thing to comprehend, but my wife cannot stomach an onion of any kind unless it has been cooked down to almost nothing. garlic, on the other hand, is another matter ...

Simply omit the onions if you don't like them. Adding a bit of garlic to taste would be fine - just make sure not to burn the garlic when making the sauce. Experimenting with different aromatics is a good thing - you don't have to "follow" a recipe exactly. This is what makes cooking fun!

Well, I got my morels and Calvados and can't wait to try this out. I was hoping too to maybe check out some side dish ideas or suggestions. That would be a great help. I think with the Chicken Saltimbocca there were some side dish suggestions that were great. Just wanted to put that suggestion in if you were maybe thinking about putting that in the recipes for the future. That and some good wine pairings. Thanks for these video's they are great! I'm so glad I joined rouxbe.

I say keep it simple. Since the dish itself is kind of rich, maybe make some green beans or roasted carrots. Or make some boiled potatoes and a simple salad. Any one of these would be a good way to round out the meal. Enjoy dinner!

Ok, I am sending one kid out for carrots right now. Sounds good. I have to say though ever since I've been a member in Rouxbe my family has been coming home early and the first thing out of their mouths is, what are we having for dinner tonight. They can't wait. You have a great little school here and I really appreciate all the work you guys put into everything. Even when I need to find out a side quickly, you write back right away. Thanks very much. Bye for now Ana

So, finished dinner and since nobody is around but the family, it ended with the licking of the plate ritual since I've been cooking with rouxbe. ha ha Really good and everyone loved this. Another one they want me to make again! Thanks so much.

Thank you so much for sharing Ana...we really appreciate it. So glad your family is enjoying all of your efforts!

Hi. I'll leave the side dish ideas up to the chefs but maybe I can help with the wine pairing. As there are a number of dominant flavours and textures in this dish, it opens us up to a number of options (which is a good thing!). An ideal pairing for pork and mushrooms is Pinot Noir. As this dish is quite rich (cream, calvados, etc) any style would be fine. Pinot is typically medium in body and won't overpower any one ingredient/flavour and can have a desirable earthiness that's a perfect match for mushrooms, especially the wild varieties. Also, Pinots are typically fairly acidic, which helps cut through the richness of the heavy cream. Then on the other hand, we have the richness of the cream and tanginess from the Brandy to consider; a new world oaked chardonnay with its buttery notes and creamy mouth-feel work especially well along side this. Personally, I’ve tried this dish with both options, and although I’m a self confessed Pinot Noir fan, I really enjoyed the Chard. Cheers!

This is great! I appreciate you breaking it all down like that for me. Excellent. I might just have to have a taste test with this dish then between the pino and the Chardonnay. I like Pino too but when anyone mentions the key word for me, "Buttery" I might just need to go for the Chard. he he. Thanks again for your welcome advice.

the buttery thing does it for me as well..:-)

Can you substitute dried porcini mushrooms for the morels?

Cooking is all about making substitutions and making dishes your own. If you want to try porcini mushrooms instead than you can. To me porcini mushrooms are quite strong, so I might try adding a mix of crimini, button or even chanterelle mushrooms as well. But again this all up to you!

It is now 1:40pm. I am having a couple for dinner. They will arrive at ~6:30pm So dinner will be around 7pm. I have prepared the pork-tenderloin and put them on top of the fridge to come up to room temp. My wife grew on a farm and she insists that 2 hours will be sufficient to come up to room temp. What do you think? Thanks Jorge

Depends on the temperature really. Pork tenderloins are quite small so 1 to 2 hours is more than enough. Good luck.

I prepared the dinner for my first guinea pigs... I prepared Pork with Morel-Calvados, Asparagus with a Beurre Blanc and a salad. The timing, oh yes the timing. For the asparagus, I cooked them first (steam them) THEN I proceeded to prepare the Beurre Blanc. I then served dinner. Of course the asparagus were only warm as they sat on the side while I prepared the Beurre Blanc. BIG LESSON FOR ME. Time everything ahead of time... By the way, a suggestion. Would you consider preparing menus, paring them with wines and perhaps a small lesson on timing? Jorge

This may be something that we do a lesson on down the road; however most of it just comes down to practice and also doing your mise en place. The better you set yourself up the easier things will be when it comes to the actual cooking part. Cheers!

This recipe is absolutely wonderful!! I had to make substitutions - buttons for morels, medium dry sherry for calvados. My husband and I both loved it and I plan to make this dish again and again. I served it with a plain potato lightly drizzled with olive oil and kosher salt along with a fresh spinach and tomato salad with a splash of basalmic vinegar and toasted pecans. Heaven. I can't wait to make this dish with the morels and calvados and I plan to do so for my Mother on Mother's Day!! Thanks so much!! This took me to whole new level in cooking.

I had no idea Morel mushrooms were so expensive. I got 14g for about $10.00. I'll be getting the calvados as well because I want to make sure I get this recipe right. In the meantime, I don't feel I'm ready to tackle this expensive dish. I mean if I screw this one up I'm really going to feel bad. So I thought I'd try the other dishes first. In the meatime what do I do with these morels? Should I put them in the freezer? I'm thinking it may take me as long as a month to feel confident enough to cook this dish. So what do I do with these mushrooms in the meantime? Keep in the package in the frig, or pop in the freezer. Thanks!

I'm a life-long hater of mushrooms. I only had them once where I actually liked them and they were Chantalle at a five star restaurant. I couldn't believe anyone could make a mushroom taste that good. I don't have any idea what morels taste like but am very open and optimistic.

Hi Jude, First of all, if the morels came dried, they will be fine. If they are fresh, you can freeze them no problem. As for building up your confidence, I suggest you replace the calvados with white wine and the morels, simply omit them (or use regular field/button mushrooms). Watch the pan sauce and pan frying lesson again and practice the basics. 1. Pan fry meat (protect the sucs) 2. Take the meat out of the pan, add shallots (and mushrooms if you want) 3. deglaze with wine, reduce 4. add chicken stock and reduce 5. finish with cream, mustard, etc. This is a simple dish and YOU CAN do it... trust yourself. You can do this a few times if you like before adding the more expensive ingredients. Even try it with chicken, replace the white wine red wine, etc. Just watch the heat so you don't burn the sucs and follow the important steps in the lesson (rely less on this recipe). Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for your suggestions! The Calvados was $50.00 a bottle. So now the mushrooms seem pretty darn cheap and am no longer all that worried about them. (they were dried) I ended up buying a $15.00 smaller bottle of apple brandy. I also ended up buying a bunch of other nifty lesser expensive liquors last night and of course had to sample them all. Hence my insanely late start cooking a really complicated father's day dinner today. The bottle of Sherry I purchased, came with a pad lock on top, too funny, but after tasting it I now understand why. I may have to have my family hide the key from me! What's really amazing is I thought I HATED sherry because my only experience with it was in the cheap cooking wine section of your local grocery. I can't believe how good all these liqueurs taste and can't wait to cook with them! Anyway, my question is, isn't calvados an apple brandy? And can't I try to make this dish with the apple brandy and have similar results? The shop owner said this bottle of calvados was "only" $34.00 last week but shot up to $50 because of Euros exchange and no one is buying it anymore. Like who would pay that much even when it was $34.00? Sorry, I digress... I really want to make this dish, it looks so unbelievably delicious. So whatcha think about using the apple brandy?

Calvados is indeed apple brandy. It is specifically produced in French region of Normandy. We just happened to use this kind, but you can substitute other types of apple brandy and/or apple juice concentrate or apple juice. You can even substitute things like cognac, brandy or marsala. Cooking is all about making substitutions and working with what you have on hand. Calvados is expensive, so you are free to make adjustments. It may not be "exactly" the same, but it'll be close. Just think about the flavors and if you think they are "friends", it'll work. Cheers!

The dish was even better than I thought it was going to be, especially seeing how I can't stand mushrooms or their cousins. Also made the carrots/green onions sauteed. Also after watching the "how to make rice" lesson, I made that as well and my son couldn't believe I made rice from scratch and it was the best I've ever made. Of course I murdered the broccoli because I wasn't paying attention, but hey, three out of four ain't bad! Igniting the Calvados was so much fun I wanted to do it again and again, but ended up drinking most the left over, hence the murdered broccoli. Thanks again for another wonderful recipe. I can't wait to make it again! Pan sauces rock!

I served this with Hasselback potatos (another Rouxbe recipe) and Southern Greens. My family loved it. I took my pan outside to flambe. It was a first for me and I didn't know how high the flames would be.:) My husband stood by with his cell phone ready to dial 911! This dish goes into my "keeper" file.

Great recipe. I found the Calvados at Lunardi's grocery store for $19.99 (375mL). There was also a larger bottle (about double the size) for $29.99. Since this alcohol keeps for a long time, I'd say it's well worth the price. I was a little worried about the flambe part since this was my first time setting a pan on fire, but it was easy. The flames don't go very high. And thanks to the gentleman who suggested pinot with the pork. It was a perfect pairing. Thank you Rouxbe for a great recipe and great instruction. I would not have been brave enough to try this recipe without you!

I made this tonight for a family get together and it was a big hit. I was surprised how easy it was to make. I couldn't find cavlvados so I used regular brandy and added a little apple concentrate. My family said to thank Rouxbe for them because my meals are getting much better and more exciting. Do you have any plans on offering a plating course?

Indeed, we are planning to shoot a plating lesson in the near future. Stay tuned! p.s. Glad you enjoyed the pork :-)

Hi! Having bought some dried morels I looked for a sauce recipe and found this one. I used Cognac as I had no Calvados. I soaked the morels in a mix of water and milk, and afterwards I filtered this liquid clean and used it along with the stock. This makes the whole sauce somewhat more "tasty", goûteuse, we'd say in French ;-) And as I had beef instead of pork, I didn't finish it with mustard / sage... The problem I had : I deglazed with the cognac with the pan over too high heat and my whole cognac was completely evaporated within seconds... I'll be more cautious next time... All the same... was excellent! Bye!

Sounds like you had a very nice meal. Nice work on the substitutions and thank you for sharing your feedback. As for deglazing over too high of heat this is a good observation. Something that you might find helpful, after just having made a pan sauce, is to review the lesson on making pan sauces while the making of one is still fresh in your head. It is always good to refresh your mind and see if there might have been something that you had forgotten from the lesson. In Topic 3 of the lesson we talk about pan temperature (around 00:50 seconds). Though I am sure that you learned that one first hand :-) Cheers!

I've made this a few times now and the last time was definitely the best. After soaking the morels, I strained the soaking water, then threw it into the pan and reduced and continued with recipe. Made a huge difference in the flavor. Thanks Rouxbe!

I always wandered what flaming is all about. Does it add anything? Is it to reduce the alcohol content? Shound't it have gone away anyway by the time we are finished with cooking the sauce? One can substitute the pork with chicken. This is one of my favorites but I never tried with Calvados. Next time Thanks a lot for your great site.

For more information, please check out the lesson on How to Make a Pan Sauce. There is quite a bit of discussion in the forum that is attached to that lesson. Cheers!

Made this last night for just a friday night family meal and it was a huge hit. Substituted brandy for the calvados (at $47 for 500ml bottle, I'll be saving that for special occasions!) but it was still fantastic. I slightly overcooked the pork as I am not yet used to the "turn often" method -- hopefully that will improve with practice -- but because I had brined the pork for an hour it was still moist and tender. Thanks for another great recipe. Quick question: I saved the morel water since it's too good to let go to waste. Can this be frozen for future use and if so, for approximately how long?

Essentially you have mushroom flavored water, so indeed it can be frozen and used anywhere you would like to add a subtle mushroom flavor, e.g., soups and stews. As for how long will it keep? I would say for quite a long time if stored properly. Cheers!

I don't understand it. I've made this dish now several times. The last few times when my 13 year-old found out ahead of time I was making pork he complained and insisted he hates pork. (Even though he liked it the first several times I made it) Ok, so this time I kept in mind I'd put him in the closet and feed him mac'n cheese so I could have complete silence as I savored this amazing dish without interruptions. As I was making this dish last night, a spark of acceptance and relaxation came over me of which I cannot explain as I've never experienced that before. It was a moment. A moment in time that made time stand still and allowed me to just "be" without personal criticism, judgment, or expectations. It was weird having a break from all that. As far as I can remember in this short moment of timeless Utopian culinary euphoria-the ingredients were the same as usual. So why is it that last night my kid was devouring this meal? I even cooked the pork a bit too long. Yet he couldn't get enough of it and told to please make it all the time? What the heck happened? Ingredients were the same as usual. and I'm not just talking about my kid, I'm talking the whole family were beside themselves, including me, with how unbelievably good this dish tasted. So is it a Zen thing that Chefs just don't talk about cause it's too woo woo? Or is there really something to relaxing and putting love into a dish that the recipients actually feel and taste? I don't know if there is any validity to my inquiry, but this sure is getting interesting. Thanks Rouxbe.

I believe it is a Zen thing Jude. I think it means that you are really getting it. It is that feeling that chefs strive for. It is the reason why some people love to cook...because of that exact feeling that you are talking about...there's nothing like being in the kitchen and really, I mean really, enjoying ever part of the process. You are right that some may find it corny but honestly, when I am in that relaxed and open minded state I even enjoy the sound of my knife slicing through the ingredients as I prep the meal. That does not mean that every time I cook I am all zen-like as life gets busy and sometimes you forget to just relax and have fun with cooking. Nice work Jude...or should I say "ommmmmm" :-) Cheers!

Hi, I'm looking for Bearnaise and picallili (cross & Blackwell) sauce Could you help me ? Thanks

If you are looking for a recipe for picallili, we do not have a recipe for it but you can find several online. As for the bearnaise, stay tuned as we have a hollandaise lesson on our production schedule and bearnaise is part of the lesson. Cheers!

arggg calvados where I am costs $50 and we have had no luck finding morel mushrooms.

If you cannot afford or find particular ingredients you can make substitutions. Of course, you will no longer be making a morel mushroom sauce but that's okay. For more information on making pan sauce you might want to watch or review the lesson on How to Make Pan Sauces. Cheers!

I plan to make this dish but I want to brine the pork tenderloin first. Should I brine it whole or cut it up first?

It is up to you. Keep in mind that smaller pieces of meat will brine more quickly than larger cuts. You may also want to review the lesson on Brining. Cheers!

I couldn't find morels or Calvados around here, so I substituted in porcinis and Marsala wine. This is probably one of the most delicious things I've ever cooked and really gave me a boost of confidence about my kitchen skills. A friend of mine from Seattle says they sell morels in his area and that he's willing to ship some to me. Is it worth it?

Only you can really decide that. I love morels and I find them full of delicious earthy flavor, so for me it would likely be worth it (depending on the price maybe). You could also try using dried ones first to see if you even like the flavor of them. Cheers!

Was just wandering through the Rouxbe recipes and remembered that I had made this quite a while ago. Made it again this week and just Wow was it good. Thanks Rouxbe! Sophia K.

Fabulous recipe!

I added sauteed apple and it taste great. herminia

I'm planning to make this dish but I'm hesitant to use dried morels. I have dried morels on hand, as well as dried chanterelles and porcinis. I haven't had much luck with the dried morels in other dishes. I've found they have no flavor, and unless they're cut finely, they're too chewy. Do others find this to be the case with dried morels? Also, has anyone tried using regular brandy and then adding some apple cider or apple cider vinegar? Thanks.

I think a mix of the dried mushrooms you have on hand would be great. When I made this, I filtered the mushroom water and added some to the stock prior to reducing which I think added a nice additional layer of mushroom flavor. I did chop the mushrooms more finely as you suggested and thought the texture was good. I have made this a couple times, once with brandy and cider vinegar, and once with marsala and a little apple cider. Both dishes were fantastic. I'm sure the Calvados would be great, but it's very expensive and either of these substitutions worked well for me.

Great comments, Melanie and Franklin. I find a mix to work well as it contains both mild/subtle mushrooms as well as bolder, more flavorful varieties. For size, small pieces are better for most - especially if the mushrooms are otherwise too dense or chewy. As for bandy- Calvados is rather expensive and most cooks would not discern it as being too different from brandy. A small amount of apple juice or apple vinegar would help carry the apple flavor a bit more as well - but again- there a re already lots of big flavors at play here. Enjoy!

Hello i am looking forward on making this recipe, i like the ingredients of the sauce but i would like too cook slowly the pork in the oven, so it is soft,can i make the saucea nd then add the sauce to the prok and then leave it in the oven? Thanks a lot

You can slowly cook the pork in the oven, at a lower heat; however I would still recommend that you make the pan sauce after the pork has finished cooking—while the pork is resting. By the way, if you are planning to use the oven to cook the pork, you could leave the tenderloin whole, if you like. Still sear them in the pan, but then just put the whole pan in the oven to cook. (like in this recipe). It's up to you, it's just another idea. Cheers!

You can try this, but I would suggest changing the cut of pork to use. Tenderloin is very lean (and costly compared other cuts) and not the best choice for a slow, extended cooking time. A cut like shoulder (with more connective tissue) is better suited for slow cooking. ~Ken

I’ve made this dish twice. The first time I used all Morel mushrooms. The second time I used 2/3 mixed wild mushrooms and 1/3 morel mushrooms. The first time it turned out amazing. The sauce was to die for. The second time it was good but that distinctive taste that was such a stand out the first time was missing. I did forget to add the 1 tsp. of Dijon mustard. Was that why it wasn’t as good?? Or was it because I used mostly mixed wild mushrooms? I have a hunch the Morels are responsible for that spectacular taste but they are only added at the end so I’m not really sure that’s enough to impart that distinctive flavour. My other thought is that the sauce wasn’t thickened enough the second time and the flavours weren’t concentrated enough. What do you Rouxbe chefs think is the main reason for the good but not spectacular result the second time I made this? I will make again so your opinion would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Terry, it sounds like you've identified the variables that seem most likely to you to be behind this mystery. And, ultimately, the dish should suit your palate. So, I suggest you test the variables you've mentioned, while gaining experience with this dish, and fine-tune the details to best suit your preferences. Enjoy the process! ~Eric

Made this for the family tonight and they were begging for me to make more! This was a killer recipe! I served it with some air fied brócoli and it was so flavorful. I used about 2lb of tenderloin and increased the sauce ingredients ever so slightly, BUT I should’ve doubled them, the sauce by far is what carries this dish, now I know! I did forget the Dijon and sage step, but tossed it in right at the end, no problem at all.