Chipotle-Honey Pork Tenderloin with Watermelon Salsa

From Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger.

I feel like I need to start this post by saying that my mother’s slow cooker recipes are very good. Love you mom! That said, most of her slow cooker recipes feed 6-8 people, which is 4-6 more people than currently live in my house. So, when I saw this slow cooker cookbook with recipes scaled for two people, I decided to give it a whirl.

Whenever I see chipotle and honey together in a recipe, I have to pause and give it a look over. The fact that it also features my favorite cut of meat (pork tenderloin!) was just an added bonus (another bonus: that the author describes this recipe as “toothsome and addictive.” New word for the day! Toothsome!) This particular recipe features watermelon salsa, which sounds weird but tastes divine. The pork is fall-apart tender, and in each bite you get some smoky spice from the meat paired with a sweet coolness from the watermelon. The whole thing feels light and summery (which I desperately needed this week!). Serve with your favorite grain; we chose quinoa, but it would be great with rice as well (I’d use brown rice rather than white rice, as these flavors play very nicely with the nuttier flavor from whole grains). This recipe serves two (with a bit to spare), but would be easy to double. This will not be the last recipe I try from this cookbook!

*I made a few alterations; they’re noted in parentheses, as are a few helpful tips.

Chipotle-Honey Pork Tenderloin with Watermelon Salsa

For the pork:
1 1/4 pounds boneless pork tenderloin
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder (because there are few things I hate as much as bland food, I used more like 1 1/2 tablespoons; I also added 1/2 a tablespoon of cumin)
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (that’s about 1 juicy lime. Please get real limes–the stuff in the bottle makes me want to die inside, and it’s more expensive!)
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced, or 1 tablespoon chipotle paste
1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce (wondering what to do with the rest of the can? Throw the rest of the peppers and sauce into the blender and then drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper and freeze; when they’re frozen, pop your chipotle chips into a freezerproof container, and you’ve got nicely portioned chipotle ready as you need it!)

For the watermelon salsa:
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped watermelon
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup diced red onion (I used white, because red onions are the devil’s onion)
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (I left this out completely and didn’t miss it)
1 small jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, which was great)
2 tablespoons olive oil (I cut this in half so as not to overpower the watermelon with oil)

Instructions:
1. Spray the inside of the crock with nonstick cooking spray. Rub the tenderloin with the chili powder and salt. Place the meat into the slow cooker and arrange the strip on the bottom.
2. Place the honey and lime juice in a microwave safe measuring cup and microwave to melt the honey; stir in the chipotle chile and adobo sauce. Pour the sauce over the meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours, until the pork is fork-tender.
3. Make the watermelon salsa by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl, then cover and refrigerate (as with all salsas, this will be best if you give it a few hours for the flavors to blend together).
4. Transfer the pork to a serving platter and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the meat into 1/2-inch-thick portions (if you can–mine was way too tender and just fell apart) and serve with the salsa on the side.