Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

I love the Provigo near my house for one particular reason - no one seems to go there for their meat. Instead they buy all their stuff from high end-butchers a little further down Monkland. Which is great if you're making specialty items (like the leg of lamb James and Angela made me last night...Hooo boy!) But what if you're on a budget? Every time I'm in that Provigo there's tons of stuff on sale - like racks of ribs, chicken drumsticks and pork tenderloin. 30 to 50% off most of the time, and I just take it home and pop it in the freezer in case there's a slow week coming up.

Ted's Tip of the Week:

This time I wanted to take something affordable and make it into something fancy. I found a couple of recipes on-line for stuffed tenderloin and figure I'd give it a shot - So don't think you have to buy the most expensive stuff out there for good BBQ. Buy the cheap stuff and have fun with the preparation!

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin:

2 cups bread crumbs

1-2 onions, finely chopped

Parmesean cheese

Olive Oil

Butter

1/2 cup water

Oregano, thyme, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika

S + P

In a frying pan, caramelize the onions using the butter, then add the crumbs and brown them a bit. Then add the cheese and the spices but don't cook too long or the cheese will stick to the pan. Remove from the heat and use the water to help it "glue" together. Let cool.

Using a fillet knife, remove the "silver" tendon from the tenderloin. Placing the knife flat and sideways on the board, slice the meat evenly lengthwise until it un-rolls into a nice rectangle. Brush the inside with olive oil and rub down with your choice or rubs (I made something with oregano, thyme, basil, onion and garlic powder, paprika, S + P.) Fill with the crumb mixture and roll it back up, brush the exterior with olive oil again and rub mixture. Then wrap with bacon and tie it up with string.

I browned the bacon on the outside very quickly, but once that bacon starts to flare up, you'll probably have to move it to in-direct heat. Check it with a meat thermometer, but at 350 degrees it took about 30 minutes. Tent the meat using aluminum foil and let it rest for a least 5 minutes before you slice.

Enjoy!