Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Bacon-wrapped Pork Loin, roasted over a grill, #recipe from @DarylWoodGerber


I love playing in the backyard when the family comes over, but that's hard to do when I've got something on the grill, like burgers or steak. I feel like a yoyo - play, return to grill, play, return to grill...you get the idea. This time, I really wanted a no-think, no-work grill night. Ribs, yes, okay. I can do ribs. They slow cook. And chicken...yes, that, too, can slow cook. But I wanted something spectacular for this dinner.

So I went hunting on line for a unique idea.

Well, I found it. 

What's not to like about bacon? Okay, perhaps it's not the best thing for our system, but occasionally, it's just what the doctor ordered. Salty and filled with flavor. When wrapped around a pork loin and then grilled, it's delicious.

Note: About the no-work thing? Yes, this required work, but WELL ahead of time. I prepared this in the morning. When it was time to grill, I set it out and then played in the backyard for over an hour before I had to do a thing! The only real tending was over the last half hour, when I needed to glaze. Honestly, even if I missed the glaze time by a minute or two, it didn't hurt.



BACON-WRAPPED PORK LOIN
Cooked on a Grill



Ingredients:

1 pork loin 6 #
1 pound bacon

For the Rub:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ginger

For the Glaze:
1 cup honey
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon white or black pepper

Directions:


Remove all fat and silver skin from the pork loin. This means you have to peel it back, gripping the skin with your hand as you run the knife under the silver part. It takes a bit of time.


On a cutting board, lay out a package of bacon, slightly overlapping each piece.



Mix dry rub and season the pork loin.


Set the pork loin on the bacon and wrap the bacon around the top. Overlap the tips of the bacon and secure with toothpicks. Note: wet the toothpicks so they won’t burn on the grill.



Insert a meat thermometer at the end of the meat.

Set your grill for indirect heat (meat should not be over direct heat). Here’s how to do that on a gas grill: Turn on the grill to get it to the desired temperature. Now turn off the “center” burner.  If doing this over coals, heat your coals until nice and gray. Now push the coals to the sides, leaving a space between them.

Set the loin over the center “off” burner or over the “space” between coals.



Cook, covered, at 350°F for about 45 minutes.

When the internal temperature of pork loin reaches 120°F, start glazing. Glaze every 5 to 10 minutes until the pork loin reaches an internal a temperature of 140°F. It takes about a half hour. Remove the loin from the heat and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving. Serve extra glaze as a sauce.

Note (from my husband the non-chef who loves food!) The bacon could have been a little crisper, so either turn up the central heat at the end or have a chef's torch available to specifically crisp up those pieces that aren't burnt. 





By the way, taking my husbands advice, since we didn't eat it all, I reheated the roast the next day at 275-300 degrees for an hour. When it came out of the oven, I brought out my "torch" and seared some of the bacon. Yes, hubby, nice touch!


* * *

For STIRRING THE PLOT, which comes out September 30th, I'm going to be doing a number of giveaways. Books, mugs, stuffed kittens!  Make sure you're signed up for my newsletter and "like" me on Facebook, where information about all sorts of giveaways will appear. One even as soon as NEXT WEEK! Also, look for pictures of Tigger, the ginger cat in the series, celebrating ala Halloween!



******************

Friend Daryl on Facebook
Friend Avery on Facebook
Follow Daryl on Twitter
Follow Avery on Twitter
Follow both of us on Pinterest
Check out our website.

Days of Wine and Roquefort 
is out!
order here

Inherit the Word
  is out!
                                    order here

STIRRING THE PLOT is available for preorder: order here.


If you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list 
so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests! 







9 comments:

  1. Everything's better with bacon, right? My only question is, how do you work out the timing? Oh, you're got one of them newfangled barbecues that you can actually control. Me, I'm limping along with a 20-year-old Weber bucket, and the charcoal usually gives up far too early. But this sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The recipe is designed for a Weber. I used to cook on a Weber, too. You heat the coals, then push the coals to the side and keep them hot by stoking occasionally, if necessary. But yes, the gas is a little easier to keep a steady heat. ;)

      Daryl

      Delete
    2. Make sure you have the grate that opens to add more coals. After closing the hinged grate place a metal pan with water for more moisture. Perfect for a Weber kettle. Home Depot sells the hinged grates. Sometimes they have the holders or rails for keeping the coals to one side. I prefer coals on one side.

      Delete
  2. Talk about decadent! Whooee! Bring it on.
    I'm with your husband. Squishy bacon is not my idea of fun. It should be wonderfully crisp.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, it should be crisp, crisp...at the risk of overcooking the pork, I fear. But the torch really worked miracles! And it was fun to use.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  3. Wow! That's a feast! I have also had problems with bacon crisping enough when it's wrapped around food. Never thought of a torch. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Like I said to Libby, the torch is simply fun!

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  4. Oh, I wish I had had this recipe last week when all of our kids were here and we had a pork loin on the grill! They would have loved this! I'm saving it for next year...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Put the bacon wrapped pork in a pan with some oil over medium heat until the bacon is nicely seared on all sides, about 1o min then bring to the grill.

    ReplyDelete