Winter Grilling - Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

I've been following @bbq_bboy on Instagram for a few months now.  His photos literally make my mouth water.  When I saw his post on Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, I went to fire up my Big Green Egg.  I was making this even if it was the middle of winter!

While my final photo was not as pretty as @bbq_bboy, it was pretty damn delicious!  I used his recipe as a guide but used slightly different ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloins
• 8 slices of thick cut, peppered bacon
• Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub
• 2 springs of fresh rosemary

Coat the pork tenderloins in The BBQ Rub.  This a great rub, but you can use any of your favorite BBQ rubs.  If you want to make your own, you can also combine one part each of brown sugar, garlic powder, sweet paprika and 1/2 part each of fresh ground black pepper, kosher salt, and cayenne. 

Wrap the bacon around the pork tenderloin, slightly overlapping the slices.  Tie the tenderloin and let it sit for about 30 minutes while you heat up your grill.  I (obviously) used my Big Green Egg and cooked it on indirect heat at 275 degrees.  I cooked it until the internal temperature was 140 degrees (I think it took about an hour), then removed it from the grill and then let it sit covered, for approximately 10 minutes.  

Surprisingly, the bacon was pretty crispy, but if you want it crispier, you can always take the pork off at 135-140 degrees, crank up your grill to around 400, then put it back on hot grill for about five minutes, flipping once.  The goal is to not let the internal temperature exceed 145 degrees.  That is the perfect temperature for this tenderloin.

I served this with risotto, because I love risotto, but I think it would be great with some roasted winter vegetables (butternut squash, mushrooms, zucchini) rubbed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of chili flake.  A nice glass of bold Cabernet (we had a 2010 Cabernet from Angelo Cellars) and some lemon Italian ice for dessert make this meal complete.  

Cheers!

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Herbs and Capers

I love pork tenderloin, but I seem to gravitate to the same recipes over and over.  Luckily, as I was searching for something new, this recipe popped up from Melissa Clark.  Yes, I'm a bit of a fan of her, but this recipe was a mash up of two of my favorite things...braciole and pork tenderloin!

The hardest part of the receipt was the prep.  Lots of chopping on this one, so if you don't mind spending some time with the knife, this is the recipe for you!

Ingredients (my inspired version, of course):

• 2 pork tenderloins
• 8 shallots, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, minced plus a splash of their liquid
• 2 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons thyme, chopped, plus a few additional sprigs 
• 4 garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Lemon
• Unsalted butter
• Olive oil
• White wine (recipe called for Vermouth, but I was out!)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees (or heat your grill to about 400 degrees - you will want to cook on indirect heat for most of this).  Slice the pork tenderloins lengthwise to butterfly it, but don't cut all of the way through.  Season the pork with salt and pepper.  Heat a pan on medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the shallots, capers, rosemary, thyme, and some salt and pepper to the pan and let the mixture cook until the shallots start to turn brown.  Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, then remove the mixture and let cool.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spread about 3/4 of the cooled mixture over the pork, then fold the thin end up, and tie the pork with kitchen twine.  Heat a pan on medium-high heat on the stove top with some canola oil.  When the oil begins to shimmer, add the pork and sear it on all sides.  Add two tablespoons of unsalted butter and a couple of sprigs of thyme.  As the butter is melting, spoon it over the pork, then place the pork in the oven.  Let the pork cook until it reaches 145 degrees internal temperature.  Remove the pork from the pan and cover.  Discard the thyme.

Heat the pan with the cooking juices on the stove on medium-high heat.  Add about 2 tablespoons of white wine (I literally pour the wine in the pan and count "1, 2" and that is my 2 tablespoons) and scrape up the browned bits.  Add the remaining herb mixture, the orange juice, a splash of the caper liquid, and the chicken stock.  Let the mixture thicken, then add butter, salt and pepper to taste, and a squeeze or so of lemon. Taste the pan sauce and add more lemon if the sauce is too sweet.

Remove the kitchen twine from the pork and cut the pork into 2 inch medallions.  Spoon the pan sauce over the pork, then serve!  I also roasted some potatoes and spring onions with canola oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.  Add a squeeze of lemon and some olive oil to the potatoes and onions before serving.

And, as you can see, we also enjoyed a bottle of Emily's Cabernet Sauvignon (2013) from the Miner Winery.  Love Miner wines! 

Enjoy everyone!