Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

I don't think I've kept it much of a secret, but I am really not a fan of pork (except bacon of course).  We raised pigs for so many years that it just turns my stomach.  The thought of a pork chop makes me want to hurl.  But after many years, I'm finally to where I can enjoy a nice pork tenderloin, in fact, I've actually been looking for tenderloin recipes because I like it so much.  Crazy!  Anyway, I'm attracted to recipes that have different/weird spice combinations, and when I saw the cumin and cinnamon together, I knew I had to try it.

Day 353: Chili Verde

This version is loosely based on a recipe.  I didn't have everything that the recipe called for, so I just substituted and added what I did have.  We all thought it turned out great!

Chili Verde
12" dutch oven

3 lbs. pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1 inch slices
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 cups chopped onion
1 Tbs. minced garlic
2-5 jalapenos, seeded and diced
2 (4 oz.) cans green chilies
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. chili powder
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can El Pato tomato sauce (yellow can)

Salt and pepper the pork.  Lightly dredge all the pork in flour, shaking off the excess.  Heat the oil in a 12" dutch oven over a full spread of coals.  Brown the pork in batches; don't crowd the meat or it won't brown.  Remove the pork and set aside.  Saute the onions and garlic until light golden.  Combine all the ingredients back into the dutch oven.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer until tender, about 2 hours.  Stir occasionally and replenish the coals as needed.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  When the pork is tender, remove from the pot, shred and set aside.  Reduce the sauce over a full spread of fresh coals.  Boil lightly until the sauce is thickened.  Add the meat back into the sauce, mix well and heat through.  Serve hot with flour tortillas.Garnish with fresh cilantro and sour cream.  Serves 8-10.

The Finished Product

The Review

Now I've never really had Chili Verde before, so I have no idea if this is even remotely authentic (but I suspect not  :)  ).  But I can tell you it is really good.  I only used 2 jalapenos, but next time I'll use all 5 to add a little more spice.  My 16 year old son ate 5 tortillas filled with meat and loved it.  I'm guessing he'll also finish off the leftovers at the same rate.  Even my 5 year old ate this.  Grade B+.

Day 216: Wasatch County Fair Cook Off and Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Wrapped with Prosciutto

Good morning everyone!  We (my cook off partner Kris and I) had a very eventful day yesterday.  We arrived in Heber around 2 pm.  Kris was the first one there to set up and bless her, she was able to get us a spot in a baseball dugout so we would be out of the sun.  Now, a normal July day in Heber is between 85° and 90° and sunny, so we were prepared for everything we'd need to beat the heat except for an awning to stay out of the sun.  So the dugout was very nice.  It would have been even better if the sun has been yesterday's biggest problem.

The cook off started at 3 pm, so when they gave us the shout we started coals and started the food prep.  Well, Mother Nature must have heard the shout as well and felt she needed to contribute something to the cook off, because at 3 pm she sent a down pour.  When I say down pour, I mean down pour!  It rained cats and dogs and little children with lightening and thunder added in for good measure.  It rained until there were little lakes everywhere.  At first we groaned and moaned a little but once we realized that its all just part of the cook off fun we were laughing about it.  And I dare say we enjoyed it a little.  I can tell you that I've never been so glad to be cooking in a dugout.  I'm also glad that it wasn't my first time cooking in the rain/wind/bad weather in general.  As all of you know, I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  : )  With that much rain you can imagine how hard it was to start coals.  God bless the man cooking 2 dozen pots of potatoes next to us for having a big propane torch.  The rain put everyone at least 30 minutes behind schedule.

The baseball field behind our dugout.

Pots of potatoes cooking in the rain.

Heres Kris freezing in the rain!

We spent the next few hours cooking, cooking, cooking.  Kris made crepes for the crepe cake, while I got the pork tenderloin and potatoes going.  Thankfully, the worst of the rain only lasted about 45 minutes, so once it stopped we could really get cooking.

Unlike other cook offs I've been to or watched, the judging here was staggered.  Because we were the first team to set up we had to present our dishes at 6:00.  The next team was at 6:10, the next at 6:20, and so on.  Even though we has less time to cook than everyone else, we were very happy to take our food to the judges.

Let me tell you about all our cook off blunders.  There were many!  First, do you know how long it takes to cook 20 crepes on a DO lid in the rain?  We do.  It takes about 2 1/2 hours.  At a 3 hour cook off, that only leaves a 1/2 hour to make the filling and put it all together.  About the cake filling...  What do you do when the filling that is supposed to be creamy and delicious turns out watery and thin?  I'll tell you, you find a way to use it anyway and hope to heaven it tastes okay.  Kris ended up spreading each crepe with raspberry chipotle sauce and drizzling each one with the filling.  We ended up with a bit of a runny mess at the bottom of the cake, but we covered it up with some canned whipped cream and fresh raspberries.  It turned out okay, just not as good as we'd hoped.

Kind of a runny mess!  : )

Next was the pork tenderloin.  When I made the filling I forgot to add the chicken broth and the mozzarella cheese.  But those were minor compared to the fact that as it cooked the whole thing opened up to reveal the filling instead of staying in a nice roll.  But never fear.  We had some nice leafy kale leaves to use as a garnish so we just put the open side down on the leaves so no one would ever know!  Pretty tricky, huh?

Next was the cornbread.  It turned out well, except that I forgot to run a knife around the edges to loosen it from the pan so the edges didn't look as nice as I wanted.

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for!  I know your thinking "this is all very interesting, but how did you do?"  Well, we did GREAT!  We came expecting to have a great time, but not to win.  But we ended up taking Second place in the main dish category and FIRST PLACE in the bread category!!!!  We were so surprised!  You should have seen the dishes the other teams cooked!  They were beautiful and delicious!  Some of them were worthy of the world championships, and I know because I got to help with the world championships last spring! 

All in all, it was a great experience.  I hope I can go back and do it again next year.  It was very well organized and I met some really amazing people.  I've said it before, dutch oven cooks are some of the greatest people I've ever met.  I have to say thanks to Kris, my partner!  She is a great cook and a lot of fun to be around!  We are looking forward to competing at the state fair next month!

So today's recipe is our second place pork tenderloin recipe.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Wrapped with Prosciutto
12" dutch oven

Stuffing:

1 Tablespoon neutral oil such as canola or safflower
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3 slices white bread, crusts trimmed and cut into ½” cubes
1teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
¼ cup chicken stock
1 Tablespoon white wine (optional)
5 Swiss chard leaves, chopped (I used chopped spinach)
1 slice prosciutto, cut into small dice
¼ cup (packed) shredded mozzarella or smoked mozzarella

Pork:

1 lb.  whole pork tenderloin
4 to 5 slices prosciutto, sliced paper-thin
1 piece dry spaghetti
1-1/2 Tablespoons oil
2 large pieces of plastic wrap

To make stuffing: In a 12" dutch oven, heat 1 Tablespoon of oil over a full spread of coals. Add onion and garlic and sauté until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add bread cubes and toast for 1 minute. Add herbs and cook for another minute.
Pour in chicken stock and wine. Add Swiss chard and cook until the chard goes limp, about 2 minutes. Stir mixture and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, until all liquid has been absorbed.
Remove stuffing from the heat. Stir in diced prosciutto and mozzarella. Set mixture aside until ready to stuff the pork (stuffing can be made in advance and refrigerated up to 24 hours).

To Prepare Pork: Slice open and pound out pork between sheets of plastic wrap.
Lay the prepared pork flat and spoon the stuffing in a line down the middle. Roll up the tenderloin and secure with pieces of dry spaghetti or toothpicks.
Wrap the entire tenderloin with prosciutto slices. Pour 1-1/2 Tablespoons oil on the bottom of  your 12" dutch oven and place the tenderloin inside.
Roast pork for about 30 minutes at 425° or until the meat is just faintly pink when sliced into. Use 2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Let cool slightly and slice. Serves 6-8.

The Finished Product

The Review

As you can tell by the fact that it won second place, this was fabulous!!  The pork was tender and moist, the filling was perfectly spiced, and the prosciutto was browned and crispy.  This is also really easy to make.  Even in the rain I made it in just over an hour start to finish.  It would be a perfect meal to serve to company or for a nice Sunday meal.  This is definitely an A recipe.

Day 207:Sausage stuffed Pork Loin with Rice Pilaf

This dish has been my go to dish for company for several years now. A friend of mind returned from a stay at a hunting resort where he was served this stuffed pork loin that had been cooked on a grill and was really bragging about how good it was. Well as normal it got me to thinking and sometimes that can be dangerous! I have done this on the grill as well but believe it is better in the Dutch oven. Most of the time I use a 14" oven but will use a smaller one if the pork loin is smaller.

This dish has done real good for me at cooking events both Dutch ovens and sometimes I have entered it in the "Anything But" category in BBQ cook offs.

Stuffed Pork Loin with Rice Pilaf

1 pork loin 5-8 lbs
STUFFING
1 lb of breakfast sausage
1 medium onion
¼ cup bell pepper chopped

½ medium red apple chopped
½ cup instant rice

½ cup olives

½ cup apple juice
7 strips of bacon

RUB

1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp sage
1 tbsp dry mustard
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder

RICE PILAF

2 cups 10 minute rice
1 can mixed vegetables

Cut the loin almost in half, length way, then fillet from center to outside at a depth of ¾ inch on both sides making the loin into a rectangle. Mix all of the rub ingredients together and blend well. Rub the spices into both sides of the loin and let set at least 30 minutes. Next combine all stuffing ingredients in a bowl and mix evenly. Spoon this mixture into flattened loin. Roll up jelly roll style and tie off with butcher’s twine. Place the tied loin into a 14” preheated Dutch oven and add the apple juice. Now crisscross the bacon on top of the loin. Cook at 350º;I do a full ring of coal on top and bottom and after 45 minutes add the rice pilaf mixture and add a half ring of coal on top and cook another 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes with the lid on.

One thing I do most of the time is to slice another onion into 3/8" rings and use them in place of a trivet. By placing the loin on the onion rings you get some additional flavor and it keeps the meat from burning on the bottom.

This is a dish that I have become known for locally and is requested often.