As much as I enjoy grocery shopping, there are weeks that I put off the weekly shopping trip day after day, trying to postpone the inevitable and hoping that I can pull just one more dinner out of the freezer. This has been one of those weeks. With the long weekend and the holiday throwing me off, our dinner routine has been a little out of whack. I’ll have to break down and go today or tomorrow, or I’ll feel the wrath of a 5 year old with no pizza; but this week, for just one more night, I pulled one out.
A few shopping trips ago, I picked up one of those cryo-sealed pork tenderloins and chucked it directly into the freezer to save for later. Wonderful little things to have on hand, they don’t take too awfully long to defrost and cook up in a flash.
Earlier in the day, I had been searching Tastespotting for a new marinade or sauce to put on the loin, when a Kraft Foods email came through, sporting a bit of inspiration. I’ll admit, I didn’t read much of the recipe, just enough to get the idea in my head, then went home and got to work.
First, I cleaned the loin, removing any excess fat and the silverskin. Then I lightly rubbed it with oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper (no time for a marinade last night, so a sauce or glaze was going to have to do).
While the hubs took it upstairs to his preheated charcoal grill, I mixed up the sauce. In true “kitchen sink” fashion, I pulled two partial bottles of barbeque sauce out of the fridge ad dumped the contents of each into a small saucepan on the stove. (way to clean out the fridge, mom!) To the mix, I added about ¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate (I always keep some of this in the freezer for seasoning sauces and marinades), about a teaspoon of dark sesame oil, and a teaspoon or so of red pepper flakes. I simmered the mixture until the flavors came together and then took it up to the hubs, with the admonishment (as he was picking up the basting brush) “don’t start basting it too soon or it will burn”.
After which, I walked back down my wonderful new adjoining decks to the kitchen and started some potatoes. A superbly easy new side dish that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I took two large baking potatoes and sliced them into three thick slices each, along the length. Just as with the tenderloin, a little oil, salt and pepper, is all they need. Then, back up to the deck and on the grill they went.
At which point, I poured myself a glass of wine and headed to the couch to catch up on the “Demon Hunting Soccer Mom” piece of fiction I’ve been reading this week.
After just a short while, a beaming hubby came back from the deck bearing a lovely platter of pork and potatoes. The tenderloin was moist and tender, perfectly cooked with just a hint of smoke (nice job, hon!) and the potatoes (admittedly, they went on too early and a couple got charred) were a nice accompaniment.
Notes on the sauce/glaze: With the meat cooked just right, this didn’t need a marinade at all. The glaze had a terrific flavor. Just the right amount of orange and sesame, but I think next time I’ll add more red pepper. The flavor was wonderful, but next time I want a little more heat. The only thing I might change would be to fire up the heat at the end so that the glaze actually “glazes” the meat instead of just saucing it, but it still worked out well. The hubs and I both enjoyed it, so this one will definitely be a keeper at my house.
A few shopping trips ago, I picked up one of those cryo-sealed pork tenderloins and chucked it directly into the freezer to save for later. Wonderful little things to have on hand, they don’t take too awfully long to defrost and cook up in a flash.
Earlier in the day, I had been searching Tastespotting for a new marinade or sauce to put on the loin, when a Kraft Foods email came through, sporting a bit of inspiration. I’ll admit, I didn’t read much of the recipe, just enough to get the idea in my head, then went home and got to work.
First, I cleaned the loin, removing any excess fat and the silverskin. Then I lightly rubbed it with oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper (no time for a marinade last night, so a sauce or glaze was going to have to do).
While the hubs took it upstairs to his preheated charcoal grill, I mixed up the sauce. In true “kitchen sink” fashion, I pulled two partial bottles of barbeque sauce out of the fridge ad dumped the contents of each into a small saucepan on the stove. (way to clean out the fridge, mom!) To the mix, I added about ¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate (I always keep some of this in the freezer for seasoning sauces and marinades), about a teaspoon of dark sesame oil, and a teaspoon or so of red pepper flakes. I simmered the mixture until the flavors came together and then took it up to the hubs, with the admonishment (as he was picking up the basting brush) “don’t start basting it too soon or it will burn”.
After which, I walked back down my wonderful new adjoining decks to the kitchen and started some potatoes. A superbly easy new side dish that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I took two large baking potatoes and sliced them into three thick slices each, along the length. Just as with the tenderloin, a little oil, salt and pepper, is all they need. Then, back up to the deck and on the grill they went.
At which point, I poured myself a glass of wine and headed to the couch to catch up on the “Demon Hunting Soccer Mom” piece of fiction I’ve been reading this week.
After just a short while, a beaming hubby came back from the deck bearing a lovely platter of pork and potatoes. The tenderloin was moist and tender, perfectly cooked with just a hint of smoke (nice job, hon!) and the potatoes (admittedly, they went on too early and a couple got charred) were a nice accompaniment.
Notes on the sauce/glaze: With the meat cooked just right, this didn’t need a marinade at all. The glaze had a terrific flavor. Just the right amount of orange and sesame, but I think next time I’ll add more red pepper. The flavor was wonderful, but next time I want a little more heat. The only thing I might change would be to fire up the heat at the end so that the glaze actually “glazes” the meat instead of just saucing it, but it still worked out well. The hubs and I both enjoyed it, so this one will definitely be a keeper at my house.
seasoning it with your favorite barbeque seasoning,
topping it with Italian sausage, various levels of barbeque seasoning and sauce, more bacon, and in our case, jalapeños.
Then, rolling it all up into a “fatty” or “log”, adding more seasoning, 
and smoking it for a couple of hours,
then basting it with more sauce to give it a good glaze.
Bacon Explosion.....we love you.
Working in 3 batches, fry chicken until golden, 6–8 minutes.
Drain on paper towels. Return oil to 350˚. Fry chicken until crisp, 6–8 minutes more. Drain again. Toss chicken in sauce.
And then? Devour....