Natural Pork Tenderloins with Pork and Fig Sauce

Ingredients:

For the tenderloin

For the sauce

For the tenderloin

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine ground fennel with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Thoroughly rub the pork with the spice mixture.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the tenderloins and brown for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Transfer skillet to oven and cook to an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Remove skillet from oven, transfer the pork to a cutting board and cover with foil to keep warm.

For the sauce

Return the skillet to stove on medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter to coat the pan. Sprinkle the figs with salt and place cut side down in the pan. Cook until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the figs and place them on a cutting board. Cover with foil to keep warm.
Reduce heat on skillet to medium-low and add port, sugar, thyme and bay leaves. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to remove all browned bits and simmer till the port barely covers the bottom of the pan. Strain sauce into a saucepan and slowly incorporate 4 tablespoons of butter. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.

To serve