DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,317
- 5,989
With the advent of warm weather, I have been cooking up a storm the past several weeks. I manage to make dinner about four times a week. I haven't, however, been posting my meals. However, my good lady said I needed to post a picture of this evening's effort. Apparently, I made a hit. It was elegant, though simple (according to me). I consisted of bacon wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin and corn salsa.
Corn Salsa
I smoked three ears of corn on the Traeger. After smoking, I cut off the kernels, reserving them in a large bowl. To this, I added:
1/2 of a large red onion, minced
1 red chili pepper, seeded and minced
a generous amount of ground cumin
an equally generous amount of dry oregano
1/2 of a bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
~ 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
juice of one lemon
These ingredients were tossed and reserved as a salsa to be served with whatever I wanted. I've made variants of this dish on several occasions this summer, getting the amounts close to what we like. I prefer lime to lemon, but I didn't have any limes tonight.
Bacon Wrapped Smoked Pork Tenderloin
Before starting preparation of the meat, I started the Bradley smoker with Hickory bisquettes. My goal was a temperature of 250 F, which is about the best my old smoker will generate.
I had a small pork tenderloin that I cut to form a pocket. (Be careful not to cut through the meat. It is helpful if the meat is still somewhat frozen when cutting.)
I melted about 1/2 stick of butter in a large cast iron skillet, adding 1/2 of a large, sweet onion minced and four cloves of garlic minced fine. Then, I added about 1/2 of a bunch of fresh spinach, roughly chopped and eight white mushrooms sliced thin. This gamish received plenty of salt and pepper to season. When the onions and garlic were translucent, and the veggies were cooked through, I removed all from the skillet to a glass cutting board and thorough minced all. I would think that this would lend itself to being pulsed in a blender, but I didn't want to go to the trouble to get all that dirty.
I stuffed the tenderloin with the veggie mix and wrapped the meat tightly with about eight strips of bacon.
The Bradley was smoking perfectly when I placed the meat on a wire rack, cut side up. The meat smoked for about an hour and forty minutes. Internal temperature of the meat was 160 F with an instant-read thermometer. I removed the meat to a platter and let it set for about ten minutes.
Here was the finished product.
Yeah, it was that good--a delectable smokey flavour with the contrast of sweetness and zip in the salsa. Now, I'm just sitting around vegging for the remainder of the evening.
Corn Salsa
I smoked three ears of corn on the Traeger. After smoking, I cut off the kernels, reserving them in a large bowl. To this, I added:
1/2 of a large red onion, minced
1 red chili pepper, seeded and minced
a generous amount of ground cumin
an equally generous amount of dry oregano
1/2 of a bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
~ 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
juice of one lemon
These ingredients were tossed and reserved as a salsa to be served with whatever I wanted. I've made variants of this dish on several occasions this summer, getting the amounts close to what we like. I prefer lime to lemon, but I didn't have any limes tonight.
Bacon Wrapped Smoked Pork Tenderloin
Before starting preparation of the meat, I started the Bradley smoker with Hickory bisquettes. My goal was a temperature of 250 F, which is about the best my old smoker will generate.
I had a small pork tenderloin that I cut to form a pocket. (Be careful not to cut through the meat. It is helpful if the meat is still somewhat frozen when cutting.)
I melted about 1/2 stick of butter in a large cast iron skillet, adding 1/2 of a large, sweet onion minced and four cloves of garlic minced fine. Then, I added about 1/2 of a bunch of fresh spinach, roughly chopped and eight white mushrooms sliced thin. This gamish received plenty of salt and pepper to season. When the onions and garlic were translucent, and the veggies were cooked through, I removed all from the skillet to a glass cutting board and thorough minced all. I would think that this would lend itself to being pulsed in a blender, but I didn't want to go to the trouble to get all that dirty.
I stuffed the tenderloin with the veggie mix and wrapped the meat tightly with about eight strips of bacon.
The Bradley was smoking perfectly when I placed the meat on a wire rack, cut side up. The meat smoked for about an hour and forty minutes. Internal temperature of the meat was 160 F with an instant-read thermometer. I removed the meat to a platter and let it set for about ten minutes.
Here was the finished product.
Yeah, it was that good--a delectable smokey flavour with the contrast of sweetness and zip in the salsa. Now, I'm just sitting around vegging for the remainder of the evening.
