Nothing will make your mouth salivate more than the pure thought of wrapping delicious bacon around another cut of meat, especially if it happens to be even more pork! This Smoked Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin is sure to satisfy all your pork cravings and leave your tongue and taste buds in complete ecstasy. With minimal prep work, a little seasoning, and some bacon, you and your family will be feasting in no time and the envy of the entire neighborhood! Whether you intend to smoke this recipe as recommended or simply bake or grill it, get ready to end up with the most juicy and tender pork of your life. Go ahead and pull that tenderloin out of the freezer to start thawing because by the time we finish this walk through you will already be under the spell and hypnosis of the enchanting Pork Sirens. Let's get cooking!
When I made this recipe I had found a great deal on a 2-pack of pork tenderloins at Costco, so most of the pictures will reflect the fact I doubled this recipe, but rest assured only making one tenderloin is sufficient to feed your family. Begin by cleaning up any remaining silver skin off your tenderloins. You don't have to get every last bit, but the cleaner the better. Since tenderloins are so lean, I chose to leave all the excess fat on mine, but feel free to trim it off yours if you like since the bacon we will be wrapping this bad boy in will provide plenty of fat-basting moisture!
Once your pork is ready to your liking, cover the tenderloin with some Grubb's Sweet Heat Pork Dry Rub or any favorite rub of your choice. Be sure to coat it well on all sides so the flavors can really penetrate the meat and season it to perfection!
Now comes the pièce de ré·sis·tance, the bacon wrap! You can make a bacon weave mat or simply wrap slices around the tenderloin, but be sure to get it completely covered to prevent the tenderloin from drying out during the cooking process. I will be smoking mine for this demonstration so I'm not too worried, but definitely ensure complete bacon coverage if you will be baking or grilling at higher temperatures.
Now that our little pork log is ready, fire up your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. I typically also add a tray of apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and a little water in my smoker to keep things moist during the smoking process, but do your own normal setup as you would with any other cook. That being said, pork loves apple and fruit woods so choose your favorite for the smoke profile you wish to achieve. This preheating time also gives the pork tenderloin a few minutes to start soaking in those dry rub flavors. You could prep everything the night before, but I haven't seen that make much of a difference in the final product so stick with your normal process you feel most comfortable doing. No need to mess with what works, right? Once your smoker is up to temp, put your bacon-wrapped tenderloin in and let it smoke till the internal temperature reaches about 130 degrees.
Things are looking and smelling pretty good at this point! Obviously 130 degrees is still too rare so why are we checking at this point? Well, now would be the perfect time to start basting this little log of pork deliciousness with some barbecue sauce. I happened to have some Bourbon Barbecue Sauce made up so that's what I used, but feel free to use your favorite sauce. Hell, you could even just sprinkle some brown sugar and some more of the rub you previously used to keep things super simple if you want!
This Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin is really starting to come together now! Close your smoker back up and continue to keep the smoke rolling till the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. Give it a second sauce baste and throw it back in the heat to finish cooking. We are looking for an internal temperature of 145 degrees to achieve a perfect, safe-to-eat tenderloin that loiters on the medium-rare to medium side of things. You can cook yours to a higher temp if you like, but it will start to dry out. It is also time to quit fretting over eating a little pink pork as trichinosis is a thing of the past and food scientists have declared 145 degrees a safe, optimal temperature for consuming pork! Pull your tenderloin from the smoker and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing to give those important tasty juices some time to redistribute throughout.
All in all, the whole cooking process should only take about 2.5 - 3 hours. Once it has rested, slice the tenderloin into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces and serve it up with your favorite barbecue sides! You already have the smoker going so why not add in a tray of barbecue beans while the pork is cooking? This Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin will pretty much pair with anything so let your imagination go wild and make a perfect dinner! Anyway, I digress and you know the drill Stay classy, enjoy life, and make food tasty........just keep cooking!
SMOKED BACON WRAPPED PORK TENDERLOIN
Comentários