Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

You know how when you plan something all week and when the time comes “Oh, oh”. Then, you fall back to Alternate Plan “B”. Well, that was our date night this week. I was thinking pork medallions. When we opened the pork tenderloin we found that we did not get one large one. But, instead we got two small ones.  But, being imagination is the number one ingredient we cook with…no problem. We’ll stack bacon between them and put it on the grill. They were great. You know it’s because bacon makes everything better.

Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes smoke, 15 minutes cook @ 400
Grill: Royall 3000 Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker
Pellets: Lumberjack Pecan

Ingredients: Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

• Pork tenderloin
• BBQ Brothers rub, use your favorite
• Garlic, ground and dried (to taste)
• Black pepper, coarse grind (to taste)
• Bacon, limp cooked
• Butchers cord

Directions: Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Season and add the bacon

Tie it together and off to the grill

Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Cooking Directions: Royall Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker

Open the lid and set the dial to “225”. After about five minutes you can shut the lid. Give it about 10 minutes to heat up. Patti has lined the drip pan with foil for me, it makes for easier clean up.

Place everything directly onto the grill and just let it hang out in the smoke and get happy for 30 minutes or so. This is referred to as “Smoking” or “Hot Smoking”, the temperature is around 225 degrees. 30 minutes of smoking is not enough to have any cooking effect on your meat but it is enough to open the pores up so that the meat can pick up all the flavor of the smoke

After 30 minutes, turn the digital control up to 400 degrees and pull the meat off the grill. When the grill comes up to temperature add your meat back onto the grill. I did this for 7 minutes per side. I pulled it at 140 degrees; the new USDA says 145 for pork.

 When the meat reaches an internal temp around 130 – 140 pull it off, cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. This will be medium rare. Keep in mind that the meat will continue cooking for another 10 degrees after you pull it off the grill. So for medium pull it at 140 and overdone 160. I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer for checking meat temps.

Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Note: I get a lot of questions about the kind of pellets you can use with a recipe. Keep in mind that a recipe is just an outline. Some you need follow closely like when you are making bread, but most you can do anything you can dream, our favorite way to cook. Feel free to mix and match the pellets until you find a combination you really like. Also you are only smoking at temps less than 250 degrees, anything higher is cooking and there will not be much if any smoke so it does not matter what kind of pellet you are using.

Note the probes on the grill and in the meat

Note the probes on the grill and in the meat. I am using Mavericks Wireless Barbecue Thermometer Set. It has a probe for your meat and a separate one for your grill grate so you can clearly see what both are doing. The read out is on both the transmitter and the remote receiver. Hands down this is the best one we have ever used.

Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Directions: Gas Grill
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes smoke, 14 minutes cook
Grill: Low Indirect Heat & Medium Direct Heat

Preparing Grill:  Low Indirect Heat

Preheat your grill to low heat (180 – 225) and turn off one side so you will be cooking with indirect heat. Add your wet hickory chips over the fire and oil the grill. A cooking spray is easiest for this. (Note: you can add your hickory directly to the grill or you can use foil smoke packets.(Two handfuls wet chips and one dry, fold foil into a packet, poke holes in it with a fork and you’re good to go.)

Place everything directly onto the grill and just let it hang out in the smoke and get happy for 30 minutes or so. This is referred to as “Smoking” or “Hot Smoking”, the temperature is around 225 degrees. 30 minutes of smoking is not enough to have any cooking effect on your meat but it is enough to open the pores up so that the meat can pick up all the flavor of the smoke

After 30 minutes, turn the control up to 400 degrees and pull the meat off the grill. When the grill comes up to temperature add your meat back onto the grill. I did this for 7 minutes per side. I pulled it at 140 degrees; the new USDA says 145 for pork.

When the meat reaches an internal temp around 130 – 140 pull it off, cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. This will be medium rare. Keep in mind that the meat will continue cooking for another 10 degrees after you pull it off the grill. So for medium pull it at 140 and overdone 160. I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer for checking meat temps.

Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Cooking In the Oven:

We have been getting requests for recipe conversions for the oven. I tell folks all the time that cooking on a Royall wood pellet grill is just as easy as cooking in your oven. Just about anyone can do it and do it well. Think about it. You set your control knob to the temp you want, put your meat in and leave it for a set time.

It is the same thing, time and temperature is what it is all about. The Royall is just like your oven except it uses wood pellets and has wheels.

Maverick Transmitter
Grill Grate’s Magnetic Temperature Chart

Maverick Receiver 135 meat 430 grill
Time to pull the Meat

Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
A Pellet Grill Recipe

About Our Recipes

We do our recipes on our patio where we have a lineup of grills, including Louisiana, Memphis, Royall, Traeger pellet grills, Char Griller side box smoker, Saber, Charmglow, Char-Broil, The Big Easy, Lodge Sportsman’s, Brinkman and Weber. I call it our “Wall of Grill”. Our grilling styles are healthy and low fat and will fit pelletheads, gas, natural wood and even charcoal purists. Almost any of our recipes can be done on any kind of good BBQ.

The important thing to keep in mind is TIME & TEMPERATURE. You can even do some of them in the oven or crock pot, but, then you lose all the flavors you get from cooking outdoors. But sometimes it does rain.

Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste.

Take it and run with it….

Live your Passion,
Ken & Patti

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http://www.louisiana-grills.com/

Our Thanks To:

Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
Country Bob’s Sauces and Seasonings

Maverick Industries, Inc.
1-800-526-0954
help@maverickhousewares.com
http://www.maverickhousewares.com/  

F.Dick Professional Knives and Tools.
888-921-9378
thfinch@125west.com
http://www.125west.com/c-135-fdick.aspx

PelletCan
A storage container & dispenser for wood pellets
sales@pelletcan.com
http://www.pelletcan.com 

Lumberjack Wood Pellets
Jerry Brown
715-866-8535
www.lumberjackpelletsonline.com

Grill Grates
http://www.grillgrate.com/

Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Sauces
Steve 360 943 2861
www.grandvillesbbqsauces.com

Lodge Cast Iron
www.lodgemfg.com