Birch Pork Medallions
- Annemarie Bolduc
- Feb 4, 2021
- 2 min read
Discover the rich, complex flavour of birch syrup in this woodland-inspired pork dish!
Trees and forests have always inspired me, and learning to cook with ingredients gathered from the landscapes of both my native Canada and adoptive Australia has opened up many delicious new ideas. I first discovered birch syrup during a visit to Québec a few years ago. To my surprise, I had never tasted it while living there. Its production is still relatively recent compared to maple syrup, but it has quickly become a prized ingredient in Québec's boreal cuisine. The flavour reminds me a little of molasses, although it is less sweet, more complex and lighter in texture. Like maple syrup, birch syrup can be used in marinades, dressings and desserts, but its intense flavour means that a little goes a long way. Produced using a process similar to maple syrup, birch syrup requires far more sap to yield the finished product, making it more labour-intensive and expensive. As a result, it is usually sold in small bottles. To this day, I have never come across imported birch syrup in Australia, but it can often be found in specialty terroir food shops throughout Québec.
Birch syrup, a tasty gem from the Laurentian mixed forest • © Bottle and Brush Studio 2019
Both the Canadian forest and the Australian bush offer fascinating native flavours. While I am certainly not an expert in bush tucker*, I enjoy experimenting with wild and native ingredients whenever I can. For this recipe, I found that saltbush—a versatile native herb with a naturally savoury flavour—pairs beautifully with birch syrup, although many other herbs work just as well. Pork tenderloin is a lean and easy-to-cook cut that can be prepared in the oven or on the barbecue. Sliced into medallions, the meat remains wonderfully tender, especially when marinated and cooked with care.
Traditional Indigenous Australian foods and ingredients sourced from native flora and fauna.
RECIPE
This recipe is featured in the Woodland chapter of my cookbook Québec Kitchen Abroad.
