Jan 13 2014
I was glad to get back out cooking on my smoker today. I had made the brine yesterday and got the tenderloins in brining at 3 am. They would brine for 12 hours.
It was a nice 40 deg. day with a little breeze. I took the time to clean some cooking equipment I had left under the smoker dirty. I washed down some of the bird doo roosting birds had left behind and hung two bags of mothballs and two CD’s; hoping to keep the birds away. I cleaned the grate and filled the hopper with Cookin Pellets 100% hickory and was ready to cook.
The cyropac tenderloin was actually two small ones in a neat roll. I took them out of the brine at 3:00pm and tied to keep in an even sized roll. I seasoned them with some Penzey’s Cajun seasoning. They went in the fridge on a rack until my 4:30 cooking time. I wanted them done by 6:00pm.
I can’t use the temp read out to cook by on my new Ortech controller so I use my Maverick ET 732 to monitor the grill level and meat temp. I got them on my preheated Traeger at 4:30; I did them at 250 deg. for 45 minutes. I went to 300 deg. for 20 minutes and then 350 deg. for the last 25 minutes for a total of 1 ½ hours to get 145 deg. IT in the tenderloins.
Just after I put the tenderloins on I baked a small take home and bake baguette to have. I took out enough potatoes, Ore Ida wedges with olive oil and sea salt, and nuked them for a minute to thaw.
They went in a wire basket and on the smoker for the last 45 minutes.
When the tenderloins were done I turned the smoker down and left the potatoes in. I tented the tenderloins with foil and did my veggies, Green Giant carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in cheese sauce, for 8 minutes in the microwave.
I brought the potatoes in, sliced the meat and served with bread and butter. The tenderloins were some of the best I have done, moist and fork tender; like eating pork filet mignon. It will make a good sandwich tomorrow for supper. There was a definite maple syrup taste and the Cajun seasoning complimented it. I would have liked a little more maple syrup taste, maybe a longer brine the next time or brush on some maple syrup and sear at the end.
Brine ingredients
The brine
Tied and seasoned after the brine
On the smoker and done
Ready to slice
Sliced
My Plate
Brine Recipe:
Maple syrup brined pork tenderloin
Adapted from a recipe by Scott Boggs at Food & Wine
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, plus freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning
3 juniper berries
1/3 cup kosher salt, I used ¼ cup
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cups pure Grade A dark amber maple syrup
1/3 cup maple sugar (See Note)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
6 thyme sprigs
Four 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloins
In a medium saucepan, toast the 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns and juniper berries over moderate heat until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the salt and the apple cider, maple syrup, sugar, garlic and thyme to the saucepan and bring just to a simmer, stirring. Add 3 cups of cold water and pour the brine into a small roasting pan; let cool. Add the pork tenderloins, cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours. I cut back on the salt since I was going to brine for 12 hours.
I just did two tenderloins and tied them in an even roll after brining to smoke. Rinse and dry the loins then season with your favorite seasoning, I use Cajun, and let it air dry an hour or two on a rack in the fridge.
Grill or smoke your favorite method, slow or fast, to an internal temperature of 145 to 150 deg. I did mine slow on my Traeger pellet smoker for 1 ½ hours. I started at 250 deg. grill level temp.45 minutes 300 deg. for 20 minutes and finished the last 25 minutes at 350 deg. for an IT of 145 deg. I used 100% hickory pellets.
I thought the maple syrup and a little heat from the Cajun seasoning went well together. I would have liked a little more intense flavor, maybe a longer brine time, a maple syrup glaze at the end, or a maple syrup sauce to pour over when serving. I did think this was the best pork tenderloin I have done, moist and fork tender.
Note: I could not find maple sugar so I used organic brown sugar. If you can find it, that may give a more intense flavor.
Smokin Don
