During the month of April, ARWB is highlighting one of our long-term supporters, Petit Jean Meats. Thanks PJM for all you do for us. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
I don’t know about you, but it is very easy for me to get in a rut with cooking dinners. Actually, if I’m going to be truly accurate, I would say it’s easy for me to get in a rut when I am actually cooking dinner. With 3 teenagers and my husband and I both working full-time, it is a small miracle just to be home to make dinner. So when I do, familiar, easy dishes are usually my first choice.
However, I do like trying new things, so when my turn for Foodie Friday came around, I went looking for something I hadn’t made before. This recipe fits perfectly – not only had I not made it before, I hadn’t even ever cooked a pork tenderloin. Plus, it’s delicious: one of those dishes that covers all different kinds of flavors – it’s a little spicy, salty, savory, crunchy, and even sweet.
This is an easy recipe. The hardest part to learn was, frankly, how to handle all that meat (I know, I know, that’s what she said). You rub the pork tenderloin in a sugar and spice mixture, then wrap it in bacon and sear it in a pan. I’ve figured out a couple of techniques to make that easier, which I’ll share below. Once you’ve done that, you’re pretty much just waiting on it to cook, first on the stove, then in the oven. That step is only difficult because of how good this thing smells while it’s searing. I wish these pictures were scratch and sniff.
I’ve already made it a couple of times. It’s definitely been added to my dinner menus but it also is nice for a special occasion. I mean really, you can’t get much better than wrapping something in Petit Jean Bacon. Okay maybe if you added some brown sugar. And a luscious baked on topping. Mmmmmmm….
Ready for that recipe yet?
- 1 package Petit Jean hickory smoked bacon
- Package of 2 pork tenderloins – approx. 3 lbs.
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (or other neutral high-heat oil)
- 1/2 cup mango ginger or Major Grey's chutney
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, salt, paprika and cayenne. Set aside.
- On a large sheet of wax paper, lay out half of the slices of bacon, so that the long edges are touching each other.
- Repeat with the rest of bacon in a 2nd grouping. Laying out the bacon first is so much easier than trying to wrestle it around a slippery tenderloin!
- Remove the tenderloins from the package and pat dry with paper towels. Place each tenderloin on a set of bacon strips, closer to one set of ends than the other. What I mean is, don’t lay the tenderloin exactly in the middle of the bacon, because when you wrap it and stick a toothpick in, you want the toothpick to end up on the side of the tenderloin, not the top or bottom.
- Rub half the brown sugar mixture onto each tenderloin. Don’t worry if it makes a bit of a mess, the extra will get wrapped up with the bacon.
- Begin heating your cast iron skillets over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil in each one. Start at one end of the tenderloin and wrap the bacon, securing the ends with a toothpick. By the time you’re done, your skillets should be hot. Place a tenderloin in each one (I had to curl mine to make them fit).
- Let the tenderloin sear until it is dark brown, and don’t disturb it while it does. It should take 6-8 minutes. Then, flip it and do the same to the other side.
- Once seared, place the cast iron skillets into your oven and let the pork cook to 140° when a meat thermometer is inserted, about 10-14 minutes.
- Remove the skillets from the oven and tent them with foil loosely for 10-15 minutes.
- Slice and eat.
- Try not to pass flat out from the delicious
- The original recipe only used one pork tenderloin, but I doubled it as I was making it for a bigger group. I ended up liking that really well, because my grocery store packages them in pairs, plus the package of bacon was used up exactly. However, doing it this way means you need 2 cast iron skillets or that you transfer the meat from the skillet to a larger baking dish when you put it in the oven.
Getting to Know our ARWB Foodies
Sarabeth Jones
The Dramatic
What food reminds you of childhood?
Kraft boxed macaroni and cheese – I loved it and it’s the first dish I remember being able to fix on my own.
What is your favorite international cuisine?
Does sushicount? I can eat that by the truckload…
What is always in your refrigerator at home?
Greek yogurt. MMMMMM.
What is your most used cookbook?
My Pioneer Woman cookbook falls open to the cinnamon roll recipe, it’s a regular at our house. Also, I use our beautiful church cookbook regularly; it has a ton of my favorites made by dear friends.
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
My food processor. My immersion blender. My KitchenAid stand mixer. I have to pick just one???
Do you have a favorite food indulgence?
Real butter, cream, good cheese.
What is your go-to ingredient that you use time and time again?
I’m not sure I have one.
What is your favorite food meal to cook at home?
It changes with the weather, but I think spaghetti – simple tomato sauce – will always be one of my favorite things to cook and eat. Oh, and eggs in almost any fashion. I love eggs!
What is a cooking tip that you would like to share with beginning cooks?
Don’t be afraid to try new things; find someone whose cooking you love and insinuate yourself into their kitchen and learn from them. I never thought of myself as a good cook – and still wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it – but I have good friends who are and who let me ask them questions and use their recipes. 🙂
When you’re not cooking, what are your favorite pastimes?
Traveling. Preferably to a beach where they have umbrella drinks.
What else would you like us to know about you?
I love being a part of ARWB!
Connect with Sarabeth:
instagram: @sarabethjones
twitter: @sarabethjones
FB: sarabeth.jones (personal) and SarabethJonesTheDramatic (page)