Fig & Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
I don’t know about y’all but I love pork tenderloin – it is a great cut of meat, less fat than pork chops & usually on sale!
I dreamed up this recipe because I love SkinnyTaste’s Cubano Stuffed Pork Tenderloin & I have always thought to myself, like….as good as that is, there’s just NOT MUCH (ingredients-wise) that goes in to it. *shrug* not hating whatsoever, because 1. genuinely love her & have 2 of her cookbooks 2. I realize her job is much harder than mine – she makes healthy AND crave-worthy recipes. I’m always just like, eh use less butter? Eh, use reduced-fat items? Eh, switch out Mayo & use Greek Yogurt?….I try to come up with healthier alternatives, while sticking true to shit that tastes good, you feel me?
for the love of figs
I love figs. I love them dried, I love them fresh, I love them sweet, I love them savory….I just love them. There’s this very nice lady who lives down the street from us & during the height of quarantine (July 2020) she posted on the “NextDoor” app – ((PS I’m wylin’, do ya’ll know what that app is?? It’s adult pettiness at its finest. Drama. Shit-talking. Tattle-taling. The occasional nice / sappy post. But basically lots of grown-ass adults being mad on there. & sometimes a poor soul has lost their kitty or doggy : ( ))
ANYWAY.
So she posted on her NextDoor app that she had a fig tree in her front yard that was ripe for the pickin’ & invited anyone & everyone to come pick her figs! Shit, I tell you what, I laced up my sneakers SO fast & had a plastic baggie in tow and I hauled ass to her house to pick some figs! It was a glorious summer afternoon.
I DIGRESS.
So as much as I love figs, I don’t like them just any ol’ way. They deserve a beautiful vessel & some cheese. Plain Goat Cheese with Mike’s hot honey, fresh figs atop a crispy crostini is a pretty tough combo to beat….but we all know that ain’t gonna feed Chris for dinner *eyerollllll*
not all cheese is equal
Pork Tenderloin is “in the rotation”— a staple, a much looked-forward to dinner. But, like, how can I jazz it up? How can I make this crave-worthy? How can I put MY stamp on this? FIGS & BACON. 2 ingredients that will probably make anyone’s mouth water – either together or separately.
Figs were not in season / not easily found at the grocery store in January, so I improvised. Trader Joe’s sells a delectable Fig Jam & I love it on toast. I was like *check* we got this. Then some thick-cut market bacon….mmkay what else ya got? BALSAMIC VINEGAR. Oooh yes, mmkay, continue. SWEET CARAMELIZED VIDALIA ONIONS. Oh LAWD, we got it now!
*ah-ha* but remember what I said about figs deserving cheese?...yea that one made me ponder for a minute. Not goat cheese – ACK. Ugh. Blech. Idk what it is about WARM or HOT Goat Cheese….but ya girl cannot. GOUDA, yeeees the smokiness that Gouda is known for would be theee PERFECT to compliment to sweet figs & salty bacon.
Basically, everyone goes together one-after-the-other. Its amazing, really, how this came to be. Random-ass pantry items, is what I give credit to – building off each other in ways only a home chef could do :)
Pork Tenderloins are infamous for being “big hunks” of meat that take a long-ass time to cook (*in Donald Trump’s voice* -- WRONG ) or they are always dry (ehh, sometimes) The cure-all fix for this is the almighty AirFryer. Whenever I have a recipe that consists of something being stuffed into something else, the AirFryer can’t be beat – everything is nestled into the basket of the AirFryer to help prevent spillage & seepage, and it is SO much faster to cook – the smaller enclosure promises juicy meat, and doesn’t take nearly as long as an oven – win-win!
Ingredients
· 2 pork tenderloin (1 pack usually has 2 tenderloins) – room temp & butterflied
· 4 strips thick-cut bacon, plain / market style – diced
· 1 large, Sweet Vidalia onion – sliced thin
· Fig Jam, any brand, your choice – 1 cup
· Balsamic Vinegar – ½ cup
· Gouda Cheese, fresh shredded – 3/4 cup
· Unsalted Butter (optional) – ½ TBS
· Kitchen String / Twine
Instructions, 1
Mis En Place – are you sensing a trend, here?
Set out your pork tenderloin on the counter for 30-45 minutes to reach room temp (still in the plastic sleeve, ew no germs, please)
Slice your Vidalia onion very thin & set aside.
Shred your Gouda cheese, measure & set aside.
Cut the bacon into small pieces & add directly into a pan on medium-high heat. – cook thoroughly, remove from pan (leave that bacon grease, shit) and place on a paper-towel lined plate to cool.
((Actually….you only need about 3-4 TBS of bacon grease so *carefully* empty whatever extra bacon grease into a can or Pyrex measuring cup to be thrown away once it cools down & congeals))
If you do NOT wish to use the bacon grease at all, this is where the TBS of butter comes in. Melt that in the pan & saute your onions accordingly.
Turn down the heat to medium & immediately add in the sliced Vidalia onion to cook in the leftover bacon fat – this shit is GOLD. I swear it will immediately smell like a bacon-y onion-y heaven in your kitchen.
Stir your onions occasionally for the next 5-10 minutes. You REALLY want the onions to sweat & break down to be silky, totally softened and completely caramelized.
Season your onions as they caramelize with S+P & garlic powder.
Once your onions look very soft & brown, pour in the ½ cup of Balsamic Glaze.
This again will make your kitchen smell like a brand-new version of heaven. ((can’t describe it for you, you’ll have to take yourself there))
Instructions, 2
Your meat should be room-temp enough now so go ahead & remove the pork tenderloins from their casings, pat them dry very well with paper towels.
Over a large cutting board, lay a long strip of plastic wrap over double the length of the cutting board & tucking in the ends.
Lay your dry pork tenderloin over the plastic-wrapped cutting board.
Using a very sharp knife or filet knife, cut flaps to open (butterfly) the tenderloin each way like a book – if you read my Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken recipe, you’ll know exactly how to do this…..but since I’m nice, I’ll explain it again :
Using long, firm strokes with the filet knife – cut down the top part of the tenderloin to make 1 long opening thru the middle of the pork tenderloin – do NOT cut all the way through to the back, you want this to be a pocket, about ½ inch from the underside.
*DO NOT SAW the meat – this will be ugly, rip the meat resulting in holes & make it difficult for your stuffing to sit nicely inside*
*if these instructions still don’t make sense to you, feel free to google “how to butterfly a pork tenderloin* :)
Your onions should be absorbing the balsamic vinegar nicely & should be nearly done and thickened up.
Give them a final stir & transfer to a large bowl – you will need a large bowl to mix everything together in before stuffing your tenderloin.
Your bacon should be cooled by now as well – transfer the bacon pieces into the same bowl with the caramelized onion-balsamic mixture.
Finally, the fig jam makes it’s appearance. Slightly sweet, thick & jammy & full of beautiful fig goodness, spoon in the 1 cup needed to secure all the other ingredients together – basically you are creating a brand new jam!
Mix the onion & balsamic well with the bacon bits and the fig jam – set aside.
The shredded Gouda cheese will NOT be mixed in with everyone, but instead, sprinkled overtop the mixture to melt and hold everyone else in place – what a job to behold!
Instructions, 3
Shit, back to your pork tenderloin….butterflied & patiently waiting on the cutting board.
Using the other half of the plastic wrap, stretch it over the pork tenderloin to cover it completely & tuck the edges under the cutting board.
Using the smooth side of a meat mallet, give firm pounds to the middle of your pork tenderloin – the sides & ends are already thin from being butterflied so you don’t want to chance tearing the meat.
Once your pork tenderloin looks to be pounded to all the same thickness, you know you are done & its ret-ta-be stuffed!
Season the inside of your pork tenderloin with S+P and garlic powder.
Measure 12 pieces of Kitchen Twine to 8 inches each, so that’s 6 pieces of twine per tenderloin ((sorry toothpicks CANNOT do this job, dat pork is too thiccc))
Slide each piece of Kitchen Twine underneath the pork tenderloin evenly, to have enough hanging out on either side to then tie a bow – chill, bitch. There’s pictures.
Spoon HALF of the new jammy creation onto each tenderloin & spread evenly with a spoon.
Sprinkle the shredded Gouda cheese overtop the jammy mixture.
Now’s the time to do the damn thing – wrap that sucka like you mean it!
Don’t be afraid – grab that tenderloin by the middle & roll as tight as you can – to make life easier & to make sure no goodness bubbles out while cooking, bring the end up to meet you rather than tucking it in.
Tie your Kitchen Twine around the pork tenderloin, working from the outside in – usually the outer roll areas fall apart more easily so I wrap from the outside & work my way in – don’t be afraid to tie them a lil tight!
Spray your AirFryer basket with nonstick spray & immediately transfer your new Pork Tenderloin rollups in, seamside UP – to prevent spillage & shit, duh.
Cook on 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes & check the temp – all AirFryers are different.
((The CDC says 145 degrees is now deemed *safe* for pork….but we all got some fucking feelings of mistrust & confusion about the CDC since we’re 22 months into this shitty pandemic, ya know? So, use your own judgement))
Allow your pork to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing it into thick pieces. Remember to cut off the Kitchen Twine before enjoying your pork unless you need more fiber in your diet….
impressive but not difficult
We loved this meal so much – simplistic & recognizable flavors, but mixed all together they were delicious & mind-blowing. This would be a great meal for a dinner party – easy enough to assemble beforehand & pop in the AirFryer while mingling with your guests ((& enjoying a drink, or four)), serve a simple appetizer while the tenderloin cooks & a great side dish to compliment the fanciness of STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN! Meals like this make me feel like I’ve “amped up” a few cooking skills – butterflying meat & re-using bacon grease to caramelize onions – waste not, want not. Easy enough ((if you have your shit together)) to make on a weeknight, but can also feel elegant enough for a weekend dinner party. Hope you’ll give my Fig & Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin a try & love it as much as I did, if not, go stuff yourself.
Thanks for stopping by!
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If you hated it, then same.
Have a great day & look for my next entry!
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