Bobby Flay’s New Mexican spice-rubbed pork tenderloin is the epitome of perfection. The tenderloin is divided into three thick slices and accompanied by a bourbon-ancho chile sauce and sweet potato tamale.* The pork was not cooked a second over medium, leaving the meat tender, juicy, and perfectly rosy. The deep chocolate-colored sauce simply adorned the plate; never compromising the clean flavor and texture of the pork, it was a nice compliment to the robust flavor of the dry spicy rub. The sweet potato tamale’s natural sweetness was enhanced by crushed pecan butter, adding the final touch to a dish that pleased every taste bud.

*Ancho chile, meaning “wide pepper” in Spanish, is a dried poblano chile, which takes a wide shape once it’s dry. The dried version of the mild pepper makes it easy to grind and use for sauces.

Tamales are a Native American food consisting of steamed cornmeal dough that sometimes contains meat or cheese and is then wrapped in cornhusk. In this case, the cornmeal dough was combined with sweet potato.