Balsamic-Glazed Pork Tea Sandwiches
Serves: 18
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup plain yellow cornmeal
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 2¼ teaspoons salt, divided
  • 1¼ cups whole buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 (12- to 16-ounce) boneless pork loin filet*
  • 1 cup pomegranate juice
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 8 large collard green leaves
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick slices
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan. Spray paper with baking spray with flour.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
  4. Make a well in center of cornmeal mixture. Add buttermilk mixture to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until combined. Carefully pour batter into prepared pan.
  5. Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes. Using parchment paper as handles, remove cornbread from pan. Let cool completely on a wire rack, approximately 20 minutes.
  6. Decrease oven setting to 375°.
  7. In a 3-quart oval Dutch oven, sprinkle pork with remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
  8. In a small saucepan, combine pomegranate juice, vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Immediately pour over pork. Cover with lid.
  9. Bake until a food thermometer inserted in pork registers 145°, 30 to 40 minutes, basting pork with pomegranate juice mixture every 15 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, reserving juices in Dutch oven. Let pork stand for 10 minutes.
  10. On stovetop, bring pan juices to a low boil over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to ½ cup, 10 to 15 minutes.
  11. Using a sharp knife, cut out and discard stem from collard green leaves.
  12. In a medium skillet, heat butter over medium-low heat. Add collard leaves, pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook until collards are tender, 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove collard leaves from skillet. When cool enough to handle, cut leaves into 18 (6×1-inch) strips.
  13. Cut 7 (¼-inch-thick) slices from pork. (Reserve any remaining pork for another use.)
  14. Using a long serrated bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, trim and discard edges from cornbread, creating a 9×6-inch rectangle. Cut cornbread in half horizontally, creating 2 thin layers. Place bottom half of cornbread on a large cutting board, cut side up, and top with a single layer of pork slices, trimming pork to fit, if needed. Brush pork with reduced pan juices. Top pork with a single layer of apple slices, trimming to fit. Cover with top half of cornbread, cut side down.
  15. Using bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, cut whole sandwich lengthwise into 2 (9×3inch) rectangles and cut each rectangle into 9 (3×1-inch) finger sandwiches. Wrap each sandwich with a collard green strip, trimming to fit, if necessary, and place on a serving dish. Serve immediately.
Notes
Cornbread can be made earlier in the day. Let cool completely before wrapping well with foil or plastic wrap. Store at room temperature.

*We used Hormel Always Tender Original Pork Loin Filet.
Recipe by TeaTime Magazine at https://teatimemagazine.com/balsamic-glazed-pork-tea-sandwiches-recipe/