Smoked Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Peach Glaze
The art of smoking food can make things taste so good if it is done right. I love to break out the smoker and get the BBQ ready for a group of folks to come and taste all that sweet and spicy goodness that comes from the smoker. One of the first things I ever tried to smoke was a pork tenderloin and let me tell you it was very dry the first time! That’s when I started to read and learn about fat content and how they affect different cuts of meat. One thing you can be certain is that with a tenderloin of any type is going to be very lean with little to no fat marbling. It may have what is called a fat cap but that will need to be trimmed as this type of fat isn’t going to render well or flavor your meat.
With a tenderloin what I really want to do here is impart any type of fat I can to help flavor and keep the meat moist. Using bacon is the easiest and best way to add flavor and keep the meat from drying out. I try not to wrap too tight as I want the smoke to make its way to the loin, and I like to keep the ends open as well so that the smoke will permeate the inside of the loin.
To start trim the loin of the fat that is on the outside of the meat. This fat won’t render and doesn’t add any favor to the meat. After this is done make sure the meat is good and dry, pat it down with a paper towel to get any excess moisture off. After the loin is dry, cut the middle of the loin, or butterfly, so that you can get it ready to stuff. After the loin is cut take the oil and slater both sides so that it can be seasoned. Start with salt and pepper then add the BBQ rub. Be sure to rub the inside of the loin as well to help get some additional flavor into the meat.
After the loin is seasoned, cover and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the rub marinate the meat. Set the smoker to 250 with a split of 75% Apple wood and 25% Hickory wood. I used a gravity feed smoker so I can adjust my wood mixture how I want it. Some of the pellet smokers out there don’t allow this to happen as well, being that you must use pellets, but do your best to get a mix in the wood pellets if you can. Any time I am using lean meats, especially pork loin, I use fruit wood as it works well with pork in general and the wood isn’t as harsh to lean meat. Not saying you shouldn’t use the hardwoods like hickory or mesquite, but too much of the smoke from these can really give you hard flavor on your meat.
Now take the bacon and lay out on a board letting the edges overlap. Place the loin directly in the middle of the bacon. Lay the prosciutto out and place in the inside of the loin in much the same manner as you laid the bacon out. Then spread the cream cheese out over one side of the loin and then top with the jalapenos and red onion. Fold the other half of the loin over on top of the cheese and start to wrap the bacon around the loin. Next take the twine and slide under the bacon wrapped loin and the tie together, being sure to tie it tight. You can use toothpicks here instead of the twine if you like, but they are much harder to find after the cook. If you do use toothpicks make sure you keep count of how many you used and pull that same number after its cooked. Using a toothpick is basically like adding a small bone to the meat and won’t be fun if you forget one and someone bites into it. After tied cut off the excess twine and place the wrapped loin in the middle of your smoker.
This should take about 2 hours to cook and there isn’t any need to baste or sprits the loin during this process as the bacon will do this for you. If you want to sprits feel free too, but it’s not necessary. Now I want to get the glaze ready as when the loin gets to the temperature of about 140, I will want to start the glazing process. To make the glaze, set a sauce pot to medium low heat. Once the pot is warm add the hot sauce and let it warm through. Now I make my own hot sauce when cooking BBQ that uses a vinegar and ketchup base along with some other ingredients, but really all you need here is to use a hot sauce you like. Louisiana or Tabasco are fine options for this. When the hot sauce is warm add all the other ingredients and begin to whisk them together until well blended. Lower the heat to low and let the glaze simmer for about 8 minutes, whisking occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Be sure to keep the glaze warm as when applying it to the loin it needs to be warm.
Now that the loin has reached the 140 mark start glazing. Keep glazing the loin every 2 to 3 minutes until it has reached the 145 mark. After the loin is done, remove from the smoker and place on a tray, glazing one last time. Let the loin rest for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the juice to be recaptured by the meat. Cutting to early will cause all the juice to escape from the meat and it will become dry. After the loin is rested, cut into steaks about ½ inch thick, or you can go thinner or thicker pending how you want to eat the loin. Feel free to top with some of the left-over glaze if you like for additional flavor.
Recipe Instructions:
Smoked Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Peach Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 2 lb Pork tenderloin
- 1/2 cup BBQ Rub
- 5 slices Prosciutto Shaved slices
- 1/2 block Cream Cheese about 4 ounces
- 1 cup Pickled Jalapenos
- 1/2 cup Red Onion chopped
- 1 pkg Bacon preferred Applewood smoked
- 2 tbsp Canola oil
- 5 1 ft. Strips of cooking twine
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
Spicy Peach Glaze – will use about 1 cup
- 1/4 cup Hot Sauce Louisiana or Tabasco
- 1 jar Peach Jelly about 18 oz
- 2/3 cup Karo Syrup
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Set smoker to 250° with 75/25 split of Apple to Hickory wood
- Butterfly the pork tender loin, slather with the canola oil on each side and season with salt & pepper
- Now rub the loin with the BBQ rub and cover and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes
- Lay out the bacon so that the edges overlap, then place the loin in the middle so that you will be able to wrap after stuffing
- Place the prosciutto in strips over the inside of the loin, then spread cream cheese across the inside of the loin
- Place the jalapenos over the cream cheese along with the red onion
- Fold the loin back over the inside ingredients and start wrapping with the bacon
- Take the twine and slide under the bacon wrapped loin and tie together very tight, cut off the excess twine after tying it
- Place loin in the middle of the smoker and let cook about 2 hours until internal temperature of 140°
- To make the glaze, set a sauce pot to medium low heat
- Once pan is warm, add the hot sauce and let warm through, then add all other ingredients
- Whisk together until well blended, lower heat to low and let simmer about 10 minutes, whisking occasionally – use the glaze warm
- Once you hit the 140° mark, baste the loin with the glaze, be sure to glaze every 2 to 3 minutes until the loin hits the 145° mark which means it is done
- Pull the loin and let rest about 15 to 20 minutes before cutting