While we are big fans of simple food at camp, like chili dog wraps, we also appreciate a good meal, at home and away.

Having a sauce to drizzle over the plate makes a meal seem more fancy, right? Some sauces can be complicated to make and hold (ever make real hollandaise?) but some sauces, like this balsamic and fig reduction, are pretty simple. And I just love the pop of figgy sweetness with the pork. 

We frequently have pork tenderloin that we roast in the oven, and we wanted to take that meal on the road and make it a real “camp meal.” 

While at home in our stick-and-bricks, we have a little herb garden so fresh thyme is available (when we are having success!) or we look for it at our local farmers market. We also find in-season veggies to roast; one of our favorites is Brussels sprouts but any rustable vegetable works (hint: throw in a bit of bacon grease in place of the olive oil when cooking brussels sprouts).

We also know that a lot of people hesitate to use their RV ovens. And, why be stuck cooking indoors when we have such fun options?!? So, we adopted our oven-roasted pork tenderloin recipe to the Firedisc. 

This recipe could easily be adapted to roasting the meat and veggies in the cast iron dutch oven over the campfire or propane fire, while preparing the fig reduction sauce in a separate pan. We will probably try that when we don’t have the Firedisc with us.

The recipe

1 Pound - Pork Tenderloin, seasoned as desired (salt & pepper)

1 Pound - Potatoes, diced

1 Pound - Brussels sprouts, cut in half (or veggie of choice)

1 Small - Onion, finely chopped

2 tsp - Thyme, stripped and chopped

To Taste - Salt & Pepper and Olive Oil

3 TBSP - Balsamic Vinegar

4 TBPS - Fig Jam (alternate: 4-5 fresh figs and a TBSP of honey)

1/4 cup - Chicken stock

1 TBSP - Butter

Prep

• Preheat the Firedisc

• Chop up all your veggies - cube the potatoes and chop the Brussels sprouts in half

Sear and Roast

• Heat a drizzle of olive oil

• Add the potatoes and vegetables with salt, pepper, and half the thyme

• Sauté the veggies until they begin to cook

• Move the veggies to the outside of the disc

• Add another drizzle of oil

• Sear the tenderloin on both sides, turning occasionally

• Move the tenderloin to the outside of the disc

• Let everything roast 5-10 minutes

• When pork is cooked through, remove from disc and let rest while preparing the sauce

Reduce

• Heat another drizzle of oil

• Add onions and the remaining thyme, cook until soft

• Stir in chicken stock, jam, and balsamic

• Simmer until thick and saucy

• Turn off the heat and melt in the butter

• Add salt and pepper if desired

Serve

• Thinly slice the tenderloin crosswise

• Serve with veggies on the side and sauce drizzled on the pork