Friday evening I asked Miss Linda how stuffed tenderloin sounded for Mother's Day. I got instant approval, so I checked to see what her preference was--it would, after all, be her day. Did she want the tenderloin stuffed with apple pie filling which, while excellent, I had made before, or would she like tenderloin stuffed with something new and different. Something new and different was chosen. OK, that's the main course, now what would she like for desert. The answer, which took about a nano second, was Sweet Potato Pie and Whipped Cream. Great. I started planning.
However, as Robby Burns once said "The best laid-schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley". Saturday afternoon, her stomach started giving her grief and by Saturday evening, the Mother's Day Smoke was off, postponed until Monday.
Oh well. No problem. The tenderloin was prepped, sliced in half, rubbed, and in the fridge. Its a BIG pork tenderloin--that's a full size cutting board its sitting on.
Sliced lengthwise for stuffing:
Reassembled and ready to stuff:
Sunday, I'll bake some Sweet Potato Pies and they'll be ready for Monday. Monday afternoon, I'll stuff the tenderloin with a peach, mango, and cranberry mixture and smoke it in time for supper.
Monday afternoon I drained all the juice off the peach & mango fruit, and started reducing the juice to be used as a glaze. I also started reconstituting the dried cranberries.
The loin came out of the fridge and was ready to be stuffed.
After stuffing the pork tenderloin with the fruit and reassembling the loin, I needed about half a box of toothpicks to hold it all together. I had, of course, forgotten to pick up some butcher’s twine—again.
Seems like the only time I think of it is when I need it.
I planned to use some Kiawe wood that my good friend Justin (WaterinHoleBrew) had very kindly sent me. I had heard nothing but good things about Kiawe and was extremely eager to try it out. I had spent some time on the weekend with a hammer and wood chisel turning a couple of chunks into kindling sized pieces that I hoped would burn in the chip tray on my MES 30. Just to be on the safe side, I nuked the wood twice for 2 minutes apiece. Then I nuked a couple of larger pieces by themselves, as I was curious to see if they would burn. As you can see they WILL burn. After only a very short time in the nuke, they started to smoke (REALLY smoke). They are the 2 charred pieces at the bottom of the pic. The whole kitchen smelled GREAT!!
The MES was all warmed up and sitting nicely at about 240*, the wood was sitting beside the chip loader, and the tenderloin was rubbed, stuffed, and ready to go. So everything went into the smoker at 5:30. Miss Linda was out at the Spa getting a massage, so supper would be a late one.
Everything went perfectly. The day, while cool and windy, was still pleasant, the Kiawe smoked flawlessly, and the MES held a fairly consistant temperature (for a change). About ½ hour before the cook was finished, I glazed the meat with the peach/mango juice reduction. At 7 o’clock my Maverick 733 read 140* IT, so I pulled the tenderloin out and brought it inside where, tented, it rested for about 15 minutes. Right at this instant, I realized that I had forgotten to include the cranberries, so they went into a dish as a condiment.
The Kiawe wood smoke smelled great, and the taste (well, yeah, I had a sampler—the cooks gotta get some kinda benefit, don’t you know) is great. It’s a mild, very mellow smoke that doesn’t overpower the meat. I’m really going to have to find a source up here and get a lot more of that wood—it really is a keeper!!
After carving the tenderloin, I spent what seemed like hours pulling out toothpicks—just gotta get some butcher’s twine. The meat was tender, juicy, and a beautiful pink color. Miss Linda and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, but we both agreed that while delicious, it just wasn’t quite as good as the apple pie filling stuffed tenderloin that I had previously smoked. That said, I will definitely be making this again.
OK. Time for desert. I served up the Sweet Potato Pie and Cinnamon Whipped Cream. As always, it was fantastic. What else need I say?
All in all, a fantastic (although late) Mother’s Day Meal.
My thanks to Justin for the Kiawe chunks and Richie for the Sweet Potato Pie recipe.
Thanks for looking.
Gary
However, as Robby Burns once said "The best laid-schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley". Saturday afternoon, her stomach started giving her grief and by Saturday evening, the Mother's Day Smoke was off, postponed until Monday.
Oh well. No problem. The tenderloin was prepped, sliced in half, rubbed, and in the fridge. Its a BIG pork tenderloin--that's a full size cutting board its sitting on.
Sliced lengthwise for stuffing:
Reassembled and ready to stuff:
Sunday, I'll bake some Sweet Potato Pies and they'll be ready for Monday. Monday afternoon, I'll stuff the tenderloin with a peach, mango, and cranberry mixture and smoke it in time for supper.
Monday afternoon I drained all the juice off the peach & mango fruit, and started reducing the juice to be used as a glaze. I also started reconstituting the dried cranberries.
The loin came out of the fridge and was ready to be stuffed.
After stuffing the pork tenderloin with the fruit and reassembling the loin, I needed about half a box of toothpicks to hold it all together. I had, of course, forgotten to pick up some butcher’s twine—again.
I planned to use some Kiawe wood that my good friend Justin (WaterinHoleBrew) had very kindly sent me. I had heard nothing but good things about Kiawe and was extremely eager to try it out. I had spent some time on the weekend with a hammer and wood chisel turning a couple of chunks into kindling sized pieces that I hoped would burn in the chip tray on my MES 30. Just to be on the safe side, I nuked the wood twice for 2 minutes apiece. Then I nuked a couple of larger pieces by themselves, as I was curious to see if they would burn. As you can see they WILL burn. After only a very short time in the nuke, they started to smoke (REALLY smoke). They are the 2 charred pieces at the bottom of the pic. The whole kitchen smelled GREAT!!
The MES was all warmed up and sitting nicely at about 240*, the wood was sitting beside the chip loader, and the tenderloin was rubbed, stuffed, and ready to go. So everything went into the smoker at 5:30. Miss Linda was out at the Spa getting a massage, so supper would be a late one.
Everything went perfectly. The day, while cool and windy, was still pleasant, the Kiawe smoked flawlessly, and the MES held a fairly consistant temperature (for a change). About ½ hour before the cook was finished, I glazed the meat with the peach/mango juice reduction. At 7 o’clock my Maverick 733 read 140* IT, so I pulled the tenderloin out and brought it inside where, tented, it rested for about 15 minutes. Right at this instant, I realized that I had forgotten to include the cranberries, so they went into a dish as a condiment.
The Kiawe wood smoke smelled great, and the taste (well, yeah, I had a sampler—the cooks gotta get some kinda benefit, don’t you know) is great. It’s a mild, very mellow smoke that doesn’t overpower the meat. I’m really going to have to find a source up here and get a lot more of that wood—it really is a keeper!!
After carving the tenderloin, I spent what seemed like hours pulling out toothpicks—just gotta get some butcher’s twine. The meat was tender, juicy, and a beautiful pink color. Miss Linda and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, but we both agreed that while delicious, it just wasn’t quite as good as the apple pie filling stuffed tenderloin that I had previously smoked. That said, I will definitely be making this again.
OK. Time for desert. I served up the Sweet Potato Pie and Cinnamon Whipped Cream. As always, it was fantastic. What else need I say?
All in all, a fantastic (although late) Mother’s Day Meal.
My thanks to Justin for the Kiawe chunks and Richie for the Sweet Potato Pie recipe.
Thanks for looking.
Gary