Ok, this one’s gotta be short and sweet folks because I’ve got a date with a wading pool and three kids, two of whom won’t stop asking me when we’re going. How about when it opens kids, how’s that sound. Sigh, I really must work on their spatial time knowledge.
Ok, this was RIDICULOUSLY easy to make. It doesn’t look like it when it’s done, it looks like you know what you’re doing, but you really don’t have to know anything, pinky promise. That sounds like I just insulted you. I didn’t. I’m just tired.
First thing you do is make the spinach filling. I was in a rush this day, family was heading over for dinner before Oliver’s T-ball game and as usual, I was running out of time. Basically, there aren’t a ton of pictures. For the filling, just sauté the spinach, butter, and onion until the spinach is cooked down and the onion softened, but not brown. Add the garlic and breadcrumbs and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Next up, butterfly the pork tenderloin. To do this you make a bunch of small cuts almost to the bottom but not right through the meat, turning the meat a quarter turn after each one, to turn the tube of meat into a flat oval of meat.
Feel free to let out your frustrations with a mallet here and pound that baby down. This helps it cook evenly. If you don’t have a mallet, put some plastic wrap over the meat and hit it with the bottom of a skillet a few times.
The first part of the filling is the goats cheese, some soft chèvre. Season the tenderloin with some salt and pepper, then just use your hands to spread on a thin even layer of cheese. If you don’t like goats cheese you could use mozzarella.
Now, add on your spinach mixture. Don’t make it too thick or you won’t be able to roll it. Don’t worry if you don’t quite use all of it either.
Now for the hardest part, and the one I didn’t take a picture of. Don’t worry, It’s really not hard. Roll up your pork tenderloin and have it sitting on the seam. Lay out your bacon, slightly overlapping each piece, so that it’s the same width as your tenderloin. Pick up the tenderloin and put it back down, seam side down, in the middle of the bacon. Wrap the bacon around the tenderloin, then tie up tightly with kitchen twine every 1.5” or so, and once from end to end. Then just pop this onto your rotisserie.
Here’s the finished tenderloin still on the spit. Now, this can easily just be baked in the oven until done. I would bake it on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
Cooked through, perfectly filled, and delicious. I did cook it about 10 minutes too long though, so it could have been a bit juicier, but that was just me losing track of time.
Enjoy!
Here’s your printable:
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin stuffed with an INCREDIBLE mixture of spinach and chevre, wrapped in bacon, and cooked on your BBQ rotisserie (there are also directions for grilling without a rotisserie, and the oven).
Ingredients
- 1 (2 to 3 pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat, butterflied, and pounded even.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed.
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 250g chevre goats cheese, or 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 lb bacon
- kitchen twine for tying
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the spinach and onion and cook until the spinach is wilted down and the onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and breadcrumbs and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
- Season the butterflied and flattened pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, and then thinly and evenly spread the cheese on top . Top with the spinach mixture. Make sure the spinach is roughly ¼" thick and no more, or it will be difficult to roll.
- Tightly roll up the pork tenderloin, letting it sit on the seam. Lay out your bacon slices, slightly overlapping the edges, until it's the same width as the length of the pork tenderloin. Place the tenderloin on the center of the bacon mat, seam side down. Wrap the bacon around the tenderloin, then secure with kitchen twine every 1½". Add one final piece of twine from end to end.
For Rotisserie:
- Place onto rotisserie spit and cook for about 45 minutes. Take the pork off the grill at 145ºF (pork tenderloin is cooked between 145ºF to 160ºF). Let it rest for 10 minutes before carving into it.
For BBQ:
- Place directly on the grill, over indirect heat, and cook for about an hour, until 145ºF. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
For Oven:
- Place the tenderloin on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil (for easier clean up). Roast at 350ºF for about 1 hour, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Be careful when removing from the oven as the rimmed sheet will have hot fat in the bottom from the bacon.
Tony
Bryan marks
Andi
badbadmojo
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Susan Baker
Joan