Lately there has been a great influx of pigs jumping of cliffs, running in front of cars, and hanging themselves or other means of suicide. Due to this terrible tragedy, prices on large cuts of pork tenderloin have dramatically dropped at the grocery stores. I mean really dropped....1.50 a pound kind of dropped.
So, to do my duty as a good, sympathetic citizen, to aid the ranchers in their time of mourning over the loss of pigs to suicide, I have been regularly purchasing said cuts of meat.
What the hell do you do with a 15 pound pork tenderloin?
So there I sit (or really, stand, because sitting in front of the freezer on a stool the tall is just silly), staring at this long, tube-like thing in my freezer, wandering a) Do I have a pan big enough for this thing b) how do I season it and cook it and c) do I have a platter big enough to hold it when its done.
Well...hmmm...its still nice outside...the grill is huge so could do that...I could season it like I do ribs and such, and make potato salad (which, btw the way the roommates were beside themselves excited about...), baked beans and devilled eggs and we could have ourselves a big ol' barbecue. Hell, I may even invite my friend from across the street, because goodness knows, there is enough for half the neighborhood...(and between my house hold and hers, we do, have, literally, half the neighborhood)
Now for the pan...how am I to lay this thing out and actually get it seasoned...?
Oh yes! That's right. Granny bought me that set of baking sheets and one was ginormous...you know, the size you use when you don't want to make 47 trips to the oven to bake cookies so you use the largest pan available and squeeze the cookies as close as you dare to try to get the entire batch on one pan.
Don't act like you don't know what I mean. I know better.
So... what do we need?
Seasoning:
Brown sugar
Salt
Garlic powder
Cumin
Oregano
Coriander
Thyme
a little olive oil
Glaze:
Bbq sauce - ok we have to get into this discussion. Bbq sauce is like...wine. Some good, some great, some amazing, many different flavors, and some is well...just don't buy it. Like Kraft... Get a good bbq sauce. If you need to do cheap, do cheap well like KC masterpiece, or Sweet Baby Ray's. Locally made tends to be the best. My personal fave is Cookies.
Yes those cookies too, but Cookies is one of the few that has NO corn syrup, just good old-fashioned ingredients, and boy can you taste it. Jack Stack is another fave, but its a midwest local only. Teag's is good as well as Jack Daniels. No matter what you choose, please, for the respect of the pigs who committed suicide, do not use 98 cent or less bottles of bbq sauce. That's just, well, not yummy.
Potatoes
Sweet pickles (I use 14-day pickles mom makes and sends to me)
Hard boiled eggs (funny, we are going to make those too)
Onion
Mayo ( I use either half real, half miracle whip, or use miracle whip's olive oil mayo which tastes about like half and half)
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar
Dill
Garlic
Hard boiled eggs (funny, we are going to make those too)
Onion
Mayo ( I use either half real, half miracle whip, or use miracle whip's olive oil mayo which tastes about like half and half)
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar
Dill
Garlic
I have a weird thing for crunchies in my potato salad, therefore, no celery or peppers. Add them if you are not odd like me. It's all the better.
Beans:
I am lazy most days, and buy Bush's Beans, Homestyle 'cause they are sweet and need little doctoring.
I do have a recipe for the real deal, but in the essence of time, canned is ok here.
To Doctor pork n beans or other canned beans...(trust me on this, no canned bean is perfect out of the can, and if you think so up to now, just try it my way and then make judgement!)
Brown Sugar
Ketchup
BBQ sauce
Onion
Sweet Peppers
Garlic
Chili Powder
Bbq sauce
Deviled Eggs:
Ketchup
BBQ sauce
Onion
Sweet Peppers
Garlic
Chili Powder
Bbq sauce
Deviled Eggs:Eggs
Mayo
Mustard
Salt
Pepper
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar
Whew! Lots of stuff, but most should have these things on hand. Let me know if I should do a mini post on what spices to keep in your cabinet or basics to keep on hand. I try to aim this blog to the not so proficient in the kitchen all the way up to the usual home cook. I am sure restauranteurs or pro's look to, but doubtful. They have their own vibe.
Let's start
Mix the dry rub ingredients together (see below for measurements)
Place loin on giant pan and drain off the liquid. Trim off any overly excess fat. You want some for tenderness.
Rub the loin down with olive oil.
With your fingers, take take a handful of the spice rub and rub it into the meat, pushing down gently. Rub it all over front, back, sides and ends. Cover and toss in the frig for a couple of hours to get happy.
Cut and boil your potatoes. Boil your eggs, peel, and devil them. They are better when they have set and mellowed for about 30 minutes or so. While everything is boiling cut the necessary amounts of onion, pickles etc into your bowl for the taters and for the beans too, in another bowl.
Eggs: Let cool so you can handle them. Room temp is good. Cool by dousing in ice water (which also makes for an easy peel, and stops the cooking which causes the yolks to turn that funny color on the outside). Cut in half and gently squeeze out yolks into a bowl. Squish them to crumbles with the back of a fork or a pastry blender. Add, for every dozen eggs, 2 Tbs mayo, 2 teas mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a teaspoon each of vinegar and sugar. Mix together and taste. You want it to have a zip but slightly sweet and slightly savory.
Eggs: Let cool so you can handle them. Room temp is good. Cool by dousing in ice water (which also makes for an easy peel, and stops the cooking which causes the yolks to turn that funny color on the outside). Cut in half and gently squeeze out yolks into a bowl. Squish them to crumbles with the back of a fork or a pastry blender. Add, for every dozen eggs, 2 Tbs mayo, 2 teas mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a teaspoon each of vinegar and sugar. Mix together and taste. You want it to have a zip but slightly sweet and slightly savory.
Dump taters into bowl and throw in frig to get cool.
Go...do laundry. Or whatever.
In a couple of hours, start the grill. Get it all happy.
Happy=gray and ashy but red coals. For non coal users, shame, shame, shame. Not the same. But nevertheless, use your temp gauge thingy on the grill. Wait till its about 450.
Happy=gray and ashy but red coals. For non coal users, shame, shame, shame. Not the same. But nevertheless, use your temp gauge thingy on the grill. Wait till its about 450.
Drag out your loin and olive oil.
Spray, brush or otherwise lube up the grill. Caution: spraying with mister will cause flammage, and where it is pretty and cool to look at, just be careful k?
Go back inside and mix up the bbq sauce with some liquid smoke and garlic. If you are using the cheap stuff like we discussed not to, add a couple tablespoons of brown sugar, a pinch of cumin and coriander too.
After about mmmm...8-10 mins, go flip your loin and glaze the cooked side with bbq sauce.
Go assemble the rest of the potato salad. Get the beans to heating. Saute the onions, garlic (yes real garlic) and peppers in a little olive oil. When onions are translucent, add the mix to the beans then (for large cans or 2 cans of pork n beans) add 2 Tbs brown sugar, 1/4 c bbq sauce, 2 Tbs ketchup, 2 teaspoons of chili powder. For the ketchup, I just give the bottle a hefty squirt. Trying to get it out of a measuring spoon is...fun.
Go flip the loin again and coat the other side. (about 8-10 mins)
At this point the loin should be cooked through. Sear it directly over the coals on both sides for a minute then take off grill and let it set for 5 or 6 mins to let the juice inside stay inside. If you cut it straight off the heat, all those yummy juices will come spilling out and we want yummy juices.
Mix the sauce up for the tater salad. Its always best fresh. Pour over and mix gently! Potatoes break easy and we don't want squished potato salad. That is another recipe :-)
Slice the tenderloin into thick slices.
Take your hard work to the table and enjoy!
________________________________________________________________________
Recipes
________________________________________________________________________
Pork Tenderloin:
10-15lb Pork Tenderloin
Olive oil
Seasoning - 2 T brown sugar
1t each garlic, cumin, coriander, thyme, pepper and oregano
1 T salt
Glaze - 1 bottle of barbecue sauce
1/2 t liquid smoke
1 t garlic
Mix seasoning ingredients together. Drain liquid from pork loin and trim of excess fat leaving a thin layer. Place on large pan and rub with olive oil. Massage spice mix into loin flesh by gently pushing and rubbing. Cover all sides. Wrap and set aside for a minimum of 2 hours.
Heat grill to 450 or until coals are gray and ashy. Brush olive oil on grill and place loin over indirect heat. Cook 8-10 mins on each side, depending on size of loin.
Mix Barbecue sauce with garlic and liquid smoke. Glaze loin after each turn.
When cooked through, place over direct heat to sear for 1 minute. Remove from grill and let rest for 5-6 mins. Slice.
Potato Salad - click link above.
Deviled Eggs:
12 eggs
2 T Mayo
2 t mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 t sugar
pinch of salt and pepper
After eggs have cooled, halve and squeeze out yolk. With the back of a fork or a pastry blender, crumble the egg yolks. Add rest of ingredients and mix. Stuff eggs. Garnish with paprika, chives, dill or parsley.
Pork Tenderloin:
10-15lb Pork Tenderloin
Olive oil
Seasoning - 2 T brown sugar
1t each garlic, cumin, coriander, thyme, pepper and oregano
1 T salt
Glaze - 1 bottle of barbecue sauce
1/2 t liquid smoke
1 t garlic
Mix seasoning ingredients together. Drain liquid from pork loin and trim of excess fat leaving a thin layer. Place on large pan and rub with olive oil. Massage spice mix into loin flesh by gently pushing and rubbing. Cover all sides. Wrap and set aside for a minimum of 2 hours.
Heat grill to 450 or until coals are gray and ashy. Brush olive oil on grill and place loin over indirect heat. Cook 8-10 mins on each side, depending on size of loin.
Mix Barbecue sauce with garlic and liquid smoke. Glaze loin after each turn.
When cooked through, place over direct heat to sear for 1 minute. Remove from grill and let rest for 5-6 mins. Slice.
Potato Salad - click link above.
Deviled Eggs:
12 eggs
2 T Mayo
2 t mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 t sugar
pinch of salt and pepper
After eggs have cooled, halve and squeeze out yolk. With the back of a fork or a pastry blender, crumble the egg yolks. Add rest of ingredients and mix. Stuff eggs. Garnish with paprika, chives, dill or parsley.
