Buffalo Pork Skewers with Blue Cheese Sauce

Meal Ideas

Party with Pork

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
Oil Spray

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup hot sauce, such as Tabasco, divided
6 ribs celery, cut crosswise in halves or thirds, then lengthwise into sticks

Blue Cheese Sauce:

2/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk, (low-fat or nonfat is okay)
Salt

Special Equipment:

18 6-inch skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes if they’re wood or bamboo

Preheat broiler and arrange a rack 4 inches from the heat. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking oil.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the blue cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk. Season with salt and set aside. In another small bowl, combine the butter and 2 tablespoons of the hot sauce. Set both mixtures aside.

In a large bowl, combine the pork and remaining 2 tablespoons of hot sauce. Season generously with salt. Thread the pork onto skewers and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Broil for 4 minutes. Turn and broil until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove pork from broiler and let rest at least 3 minutes. While pork is resting, brush both sides with the butter mixture.

Serve the skewers and celery sticks with the blue cheese sauce on the side.

*Note: Instead of making the blue cheese sauce from scratch, you can purchase ready-made blue cheese dressing.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition per serving Pork (Serving is 1 skewer with hot sauce)

While this crowd-pleasing appetizer is great for the holidays, it’s also perfect for football weekends, tailgating, and other entertaining year-round. If you’d like, you can use boneless pork loin chops instead of the tenderloin. And, while it wouldn’t be traditional, you can swap the celery for carrot sticks, or serve a combination of the two.

Calories: 160 calories
Protein: 24 grams
Fat: 7 grams
Sodium: 150 milligrams
Cholesterol: 85 milligrams
Saturated Fat: 4 grams
Carbohydrates: 2 grams

Random Grilling Tip:

Chops are best prepared by grilling directly over the coals.

Ratings

Buying/Handling/Storing Tip:

Sealed, prepacked fresh pork cuts can be kept in the refrigerator 2 to 4 days. If you do plan on keeping the raw, fresh pork longer than 2 to 3 days before cooking it, store it well-wrapped in the freezer.

Other Pork Buying/Handling/Storing Tips

Ask Your Butcher

Pork tenderloin makes an elegant entrée for a small dinner party but also can be roasted or grilled whole for quick weeknight dinner. When sliced crosswise (like a loaf of French bread), the resulting medallions also may be sautéed.

More Butcher Tips

About the Cut

The tenderloin comes from the full pork loin. As the name indicates, the tenderloin is one of the most tender cuts of pork. Typically, pork tenderloin weighs between ¾ and 1 ½ pounds.

Learn About the Pork Cuts

Cooking Method: Broiling

COOKING BASICS:
1)	Place pork on preheated broiler pan so it is three to five inches from the heat source.
2)	Broil until the pork is brown on one side; turn and broil the other side until brown.
3)	Season as desired.

More about this cooking method