Sweet Money Bacon Weave Tenderloin
I wanted my to make my entry stand out, so I decided to try something I hadn't done before with pork tenderloin or pork loin. I started off with a couple of nice Seaboard PrairieFresh tenderloins I found at a local supermarket. Each weighed a little over 1.5 pounds. I trimmed off a sufficient amount of outer fat and silver skin.
Pork tenderloin is a very lean cut and can dry out easily if cooked too fast or overcooked, so I used a marinade injection in order to retain moisture and add another component to the overall flavor profile. The marinade contains white grape juice, agave nectar, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, and a little of my own pork BBQ rub (without the usual Spanish paprika added).
I decided to go with a sweeter flavor profile over a savory one after some thought. I used Big Poppa Smokers Sweet Money Rub, Simply Marvelous Pecan, and SM Sweet Seduction. BPS Sweet Money isn't really that much sweeter than regular Money Rub (IMO); however, it does lack some of the more savory & peppery notes that I wanted to avoid. Layered with SM Pecan & Sweet Seduction, it hit all the points that I was hoping for. I seasoned the outside of the tenderloins thoroughly and then I wrapped them in plastic film and refrigerated them for a couple of hours.
After the tenderloins chilled for a couple of hours I was ready to pull out all the stops and add a bacon weave! I used Farmer John's regular cut bacon and started barding the tenderloins. I rewrapped the tenderloins and returned them to the fridge for another hour or so. This was going to be an epic cook.
I fired up the new mini WSM (I want to get that thing seasoned) and brought it up to 225º. I used apple and hickory wood because I like the flavor they add to pork. I wanted to slowly smoke the tenderloins and allow the smoke to impart plenty of flavor. Once I felt the tenderloins had enough smoke flavor I turned the fire up to 300º to give the bacon a nice crisper finish.
The tenderloins were done at ~145º, but my wife likes her pork's juices to run clear; thus, I pulled them off at 150º and they rose another 5º while they rested. The bacon tightened & crisped up really nice at the higher finish pit temp.
I let the tenderloins rest a bit while my wife prepared a nice asparagus salad, cornbread stuffing (Mrs. Cubbisons) and some homemade scalloped potatoes (the mandolin slicer is awesome!). Once all the side were prepared, it was time for the moment of truth. Oooh, look at that smoke ring through the bacon! This was going to be good...
Let's slice the other one now...
The table is just about set...
Dinner time...
We had a fantastic dinner that night. My wife loved the tenderloin and told me, of all the food I cook for our family that this was no doubt her favorite that I've ever made. I'm more of a beef/steak/tri tip guy, but I do agree with her somewhat. This recipe is definitely going to be repeated during the holidays.
Thank you for taking a look and I anticipate some great entries to be posted in the coming weeks. Good luck, everyone.