Grilled Escabeche with Pork
Often the most effective marinating happens not before but after cooking. This technique, usually called escabeche, was once used to preserve food. It's really a form of pickling: hot food was put into hot liquid containing a good deal of vinegar. Treated thus, it would keep for some time. Since we don't need escabeche for preserving, the postgrilling marinating time can be as little as a few minutes, but it can also be as long as overnight—it doesn't make much difference; in either case, it produces a highly flavored, prepared-in-advance, room temperature dish that is good as part of a buffet with a variety of other dishes.
- ½ cup red wine or other vinegar
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried
- 5 fresh marjoram or oregano sprigs or 1 teaspoon
- dried marjoram or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 small dried or fresh chile, optional
- 1 large onion, white or red, cut in half and slice into half-moons
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 pork tenderloins, 1½ to 2 pounds total
Instructions:
-  Start a charcoal or gas grill or preheat the broiler; the fire should be moderately hot and the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. As it is heating, combine all the ingredients except the pork (in cluding a pinch of salt and a liberal grinding of pepper, at least ½ teaspoon) in a medium saucepan with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened just a bit. Pour into a deep platter large enough to accom modate the pork.
- Sprinkle the pork liberally with salt and pepper and brown it on all sides until it is nearly cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat should read 150°F), 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pork, let it rest for a few minutes to cool, then put it on the platter with the marinade.
- If you are eager to eat, wait 10 minutes or so, then slice the pork about 1 inch thick and put it back in the marinade; wait another 15 minutes or so before eating. If you have time, let the pork sit in the marinade, whole, for a couple of hours (or overnight, refrigerated) before slicing and serving at room temperature, spooning a bit of the marinade (including some onion) over each slice.