A couple of nights ago, our neighbors invited us over for an impromptu week-night dinner. Normally, my wife and I are creatures of habit during the week. But when the opportunity to socialize pops up on a Wednesday night, you just have to take it!
For dinner, our neighbor had butterflied chicken breasts and then layered them with basil and roasted red peppers. A quick roll-up and some time on the grill turned these into the most delicious Italian chicken rollatini ever. That's when I realized that it had been a long time since I'd done anything stuffed on the grill. Time to fix that problem!
I decided to go with pork tenderloin because I love the flavor of grilled pork. And for a filling? I mixed cream cheese with diced jalapeños for a delicious and fun spread. Then, since bacon makes everything better, I crumbled some bacon over the top. The result was nothing short of delicious!
Since this bacon and jalapeño stuffed pork loin is grilled over indirect heat, the cream cheese filling doesn't really melt and drip out like you'd expect. Instead, you end up with spirals of tender grilled pork loin stuffed with a delicious creamy mixture of jalapeños and bacon. How can you go wrong with this combo? My wife actually said it tasted like jalapeño popper-stuffed pork loin!
If you've never stuffed meat before, it's really not that difficult at all. All you need is some plastic wrap, a meat tenderizer (or rolling pin) and some kitchen twine. Here's a couple of handy tips that can be used for everything from stuffed pork tenderloins to stuffed chicken breasts to any other creation you can dream up:
- Make sure not to cut all the way through the meat when you butterfly it. You want to stop about ½"-3/4" from the other side. This way, you can lay the meat out flat on the cutting board, but it still stays as one large piece.
- When pounding the meat, make sure to start at the center and work towards the outer edges. Also, try to make sure the meat has a uniform thickness. If one part is much thicker than the other part, then it will look funky when you roll it up, and it'll also be much harder to cook!
- Kitchen twine is your friend here! Before starting, cut a handful of pieces of kitchen twine. Then, once you roll up the meat, you've already got the twine ready to go. And tie the twine relatively tight…you want to make sure that your delicious stuffed creation actually stays stuffed on the grill! Oh, and don't forget to cut the twine off once the meat is grilled. Grilled kitchen twine doesn't taste very good.
- Finally, make sure to preheat the grill evenly. You want it good and hot. This helps create the awesome grilled marks on the outside of your stuffed tenderloin. But remember not to grill this one over direct heat. Indirect heat is the key to fully cooking the tenderloin without burning the outside of it. Check out the instructions below for how to set up your grill for indirect cooking (hint: it's really easy!).
Want to try some more stuffed recipes? Try Mary Kay's grilled stuffed flank steak and Jennifer's spinach artichoke stuffed chicken too.
Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound thick sliced bacon
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 pork tenderloins, 1 1/4 pounds to 1 1/2 pounds
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Cook the bacon over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes. The bacon should be mostly cooked, but not quite crispy. Transfer bacon to paper towels and pat dry. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, jalapeño and smoked paprika until well mixed. Set aside.
- Rinse each tenderloin and pat dry with paper towels. Butterfly the tenderloins by slicing them in half horizontally, stopping about ½" from the edge so that the two halves remain connected.
- Working with one tenderloin at a time, spread the tenderloin open on a cutting board. Cover the top with plastic wrap. Beginning in the center and working towards the edges, pound the tenderloin to ~½" thickness. (Tip: If you don't have a kitchen mallet, I've found that a rolling pin works great…just make sure to wash it thoroughly when you're done!)
- Trim any ragged edges of the tenderloin so that you are left with a rectangle about 10"x6".
- With the long side of the tenderloin facing you, spread half of the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom half of the rectangle. Crumble half of the cooked bacon on top of the cream cheese.
- Roll tenderloin away from you into a tight roll. (Tip: Use caution to not squeeze the stuffing out of the ends as you roll.)
- Place tenderloin seam side down on the cutting board. Using 5 evenly spaced pieces of kitchen twine, tie the tenderloin closed.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Rub half of this mixture evenly over the outside of each tenderloin.
- Preheat the grill on high heat until hot, about 10 minutes. Leave 1 burner on high, and turn off the other burners. (If using charcoal, just bank the hot coals up against one side of the grill.)
- Brush the grill grates with canola or vegetable oil and then place the tenderloins on the opposite side of the grill as the lit burner.
- Cook until an internal thermometer registers at least 140°, about 30-35 minutes, rotating pork after about 20 minutes.
- Transfer tenderloins to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove twine and slice into 1/2" pieces.
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