Is everyone tired of winter yet? Tired of the snow, maybe? Tired of the rains? Oh you bet. Those long, day after day rain storms? Yes already.
For whatever reason, they broke this last weekend and we all saw 65 degree + weather, perfect for a morning out. Guess what I found?
That’s right, a pork tenderloin. As it turns out Taylor & Toponia scored a monster of a pig, 350 pounds worth. I have NO idea what it’s like having to butcher a 350 pound animal, maybe some day I will. Right now I’ll have to suffer with some of Taylor’s pork tenderloin (special order) rubbed with s&p, garlic, lemon, fennel and rosemary. YEAH !!! I showed up a bit early Saturday morning, my 4 year old boy wasn’t with me so I was able to get my groove on far quicker. Taylor and I swapped some niceties and quickly got down to business. He just ‘had’ to open one tenderloin up and show it to me, it was beautiful. The rosemary hit me first. He made me promise to grill the sexy beast, no dumb oven. Well, alright I figured, I can handle it.
As you can see, it was grilled (remember, I promised). I considered smoking it, but wanted the caramelization from grilling. Spose I could have seared it first, then smoked it. But the darn thing didn’t take long to cook and I didn’t feel like firing up the smoker for a 40 minute jaunt. So the grill it was to be. Mesquite laced with hickory, coals gray & grill clean and well oiled. Lid down with exhaust full open. I did burgers for the kids (thanks again Taylor!).
The resulting pork was amazing. The tenderloin is so … well, uh tender. I pulled it at 152F and let it rest for 10 minutes. Floppy juicy bright with smoky grillness. What you don’t see are the steamed fresh green beans, buttered with a squoosh of lemon juice. Russet potatoes rubbed with olive oil and baked in a convection oven until skin is crispy. You don’t see them, because after the pork it just didn’t stand up. Ya just gotta love that pork, eh?
Xo Xo
GAWD – I actually gasped when I saw the picture. Later in the article I made a groaning sound. Not trying to talk dirty or anything but I’m going to where they don’t have pork in this quality and will get my porkatarian groove on through this site, Dr. Biggles.
Have you ever butchered any sort of animal? I have only done a yearling boar and a fair amount of deer. It’s awfully hard work and a large pig would take a few people to handle. Once you get the jacket off though it’s smooth sailing and much less confrontational. You get yer mind on the marinade and it’s all good.
I wish we had access to the kind of meats you’re writing about up here in the LowLands. In Occitania we do.
Well, lemme tell ya mister, mine was a rib roast and I did fire up the smoker, sorta. Mesquite lump, no wood chunks, no water in the pan (see, I was going for a more wood-oven type vibe than a smoked vibe, and I wanted the roast farther from the coals than I can get it in the grill), ran the thing up around 350 till the roast hit 150. Holy smoke it was good, GOOD! There can be no doubt- that leviathanic pig was of royal blood.
Dang boy! That’s one hot smoker! Talk about gettin’ it done. Yup, juicy wonder with tasty herbs. I picked up a loaf of the Pate Maison, took a picture too. But after reviewing the results, I’ve decided that maybe close-up photographs of Pate isn’t such a hot idear.
Biggles
I feel faint.
Did you save any to share with the rest of us?
I am SO shopping for pork loin this weekend.
Hey Molly,
Tee hee, the amount we have left wouldn’t feed a duck. Yeah, shop fer the pork tenderloin. Or a beef Onglet/Hanger steak! YEAH !!!
That picture with the sheep in it is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while …
Hey Dr. Biggles,
Long time lurker, first time commenter here! Just had to come out of hiding for this pork loin…awesome. We had some thick chops on the grill last night, and they were good, but now I’ve just gotta get me one of these.
Cheers,