Saturday, June 4, 2016

Marinated Pork Tenderloin wrapped in Streaky Bacon

I was talking to my friend Russell who lives in one of the great BBQ states in the US and he mentioned a particular marinade he likes. It turns out that it is only available fairly locally. You would not get it in the BBQ wastelands of Ireland. After a bit of searching and following a few bread crumb trails, I came across a marinade recipe on southernplate.com which looked nice and is an All Purpose Marinade. There are some pretty good recipes on that site.

It was a great day weatherwise here today and I had a pork tenderloin in the fridge. Obviously a great opportunity to try it out.

Here is the basic recipe, which I modified slightly for my tastes:

2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground ginger
250ml soy sauce
250ml water
½ tsp liquid smoke (optional)

1 Pork Tenderloin
1 packet of streaky rashers

Oops, when I made it I forgot to add the liquid smoke, but it was great anyway.

Basically mix it all together.

Cut the pork into about 25mm (inch) slices and put in the marinade. I probably used about two thirds of the marinade for this.

I left the pork in the marinade for about 40 minutes, removed it and wrapped each piece in the bacon and put on a metal skewer. The next time I would separate the pieces, so the bacon crisps up more.


This is them on the old BBQ


I cooked them for about 4 minutes on each side before turning them and re-positioning as required. I also used a temperature probe to make sure they reached at least 72C. I think it took about 12 to 15 minutes in total.


I turned off the BBQ and let them rest for a further 5 minutes in the residual heat. This is the final product minus 1 piece that Nuala scarfed (an Irish term for eating without due care and attention).



It was totally delicious. Juicy, tasty and full of Umami. A real winner. Everyone present liked it. Definitely worth a further try. I presume that the Soy Sauce had a Brining effect on the meat, which made it extra juicy. If Nuala liked it, and she is a Supertaster, then it must be good. Street Cred 180.