Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions

My friends Nate and Le Tonia are Dove Chocolatiers. Last week he sent me some of Dove’s BBQ seasoning, the Chocolate Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette, Sweet’N’Spicy Cocoa Rub and their Sweet’N’Smoky Chocolate BBQ Sauce. Patti and I both like our chocolate and Patti loves Dove’s high quality. So, we started thinking about this. My first thoughts were chocolate syrup on BBQ. Not real appealing at first glance. But, this stuff is “top drawer”.

The vinaigrette is sweetened by the fig with a mellow almost after taste of chocolate. It would, of course, make a fine salad dressing. Think about it as a marinade where it imparts the subtle flavors of sweet chocolate into your meat. The rub was a big surprise to us. It looks like cocoa powder, but it has a spicy kick that slowly grows on you. Great, not hot, but you know it’s there. It blends well with the chocoalate. And why not? A lot of Mexican dishes use cocoa because it’s good stuff. We are going to use a lot of this.

With the Sweet’N’Smoky Chocolate BBQ Sauce I was expecting a chocolate tomato thing. Again, a nice surprise! I was treated to a thick smoky tasting sauce with shades of chocolate. We matched these up with pork tenderloins. The pork was mild enough to let the seasoning shine. I am thinking chicken next or some kabobs.

Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes smoke, 30 minutes cook
Grill: Royall 3000 Wood Pellet Grill
Pellets: Royall House Blend- Hickory, Oak, Cherry

Ingredients: Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions

• Pork tenderloin
• Dove’s Chocolate Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Dove’s Sweet’N’Spicy Cocoa Rub
• Dove’s Sweet’N’Smoky Chocolate BBQ Sauce

Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions
A Pellet Grill Recipe

Directions: Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions

Place the pork tenderloins in a zip lock bag and cover with the Dove’s Chocolate Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette. Seal the bag and mix things around then put it back into the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and discard bag and marinade. Pat the tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle a covering of the Dove’s Sweet’N’Spicy Cocoa Rub over the meat and rub it in with your fingers. Let the pork warm to room temputure before putting them on the grill. This is so it will cook more evenly, do this with all meats. But, ground beef goes on the grill straight from the refrigerator, it holds together better cold.

On the Grill with a Good Coating of the Cocoa Rub

Cooking Directions: Royall Wood Pellet Grill

Open the lid and set the dial to “Smoke”, turn it on. 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 the pork tenderloins 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”, the temperature is around 165-180 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 300 degrees, sauce and turn the meat. After 15 minutes sauce the meat again and check the internal temperature of the meat. You are looking for a temperature of 145 degrees (62c) USDA safe, so you can go another 15 minutes. I pulled it at 140 degrees (55c) keeping in mind that the meat will continue cooking for another 5 to10 degrees after you pull it off the grill. I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer for checking meat temperatures.

Note: I also used a Maverick 732 remote meat thermometer tonight.

Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions
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.

Time to sauce

Cooking In the Oven:

We have been getting requests for recipe conversions for the Pacific Living Pizza Oven. I tell folks all the time that cooking on a Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker 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 Louisiana Grill is just like your oven except it uses wood pellets and has wheels.

Let’s Eat!!

Dove’s Chocolate Pork Medallions
A Pellet Grill Recipe

About Our Recipes

We do our recipes on our patio where we have a lineup of grills, including Louisiana, Green Mountain, Memphis, Royall, Traeger pellet grills, Char-Griller, Saber, Charmglow, Char-Broil, The Big Easy, Pacific Living Pizza Oven, 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

http://datenightdoins.com
Facebook 
Youtube Channel
Pintrest
Flipboard

Our Thanks To:

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

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

Pacific Living Outdoor Oven
Pacific Living Inc.
Rick Jones
949-481-9213
rick@pacificlivinginc.com
http://pacificlivinginc.com/