There's something about food wrapped in bacon that is just miraculous and this Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Pork Tenderloin is no exception! With just a handful of ingredients, it comes together quickly and packs a flavor punch! You can easily double this recipe and make multiple roasts if serving a crowd.
The original recipe we had for this called for the roast to be smoked on a smoker with apple, hickory or oak wood. We've made it that way a few times and it is superb. Smoking it adds about 2 hours to the recipe but it adds some depth to the overall flavor and it is my preferred way to prepare this. If you choose to smoke it, season and place the roast in a cold smoker for about 2 hours. You are not trying to cook it here - you are just adding smoke.
But for this roast, in the middle of winter, I had a craving for this but not the desire to freeze outside. We opted to just make it all in the oven. We made sure to use smoked paprika and I could have added some liquid smoke, but it is good even if you don't add any smoke to it.
I bought a decent sized pork tenderloin and had a couple jalapenos and leftover cream cheese, so I was ready to go. The recipe starts with cleaning up the pork loin of fat and silver skin and then seasoning the loin with paprika and garlic salt. The cream cheese is mixed up next with diced jalapenos and more seasonings - it's really very easy.
Next is the bacon weave. I used the entire package and made sure the weave as tight because bacon likes to curl as it cooks. If you leave space for the bacon to move, it will - so keep it tight. If you don't know how to weave bacon, just Google "how to make a bacon weave" and you will be inundated with video tutorials that will show you. They are actually pretty cool, and I've seen folks weave bacon and cut in squares for grilled sandwiches - always cool. And if you really don't want to be bothered, you could always just wrap slices around the roast, so no worries.
The seasoned roast goes into a nonstick pan, the cream cheese mix is spread on top and then the bacon weave can be placed over the roast and tucked in tight. It's that simple!
If you had decided to smoke the roast, take it out of the smoker and let it cool for about 10 minutes before spreading the cream cheese mix. If the roast is warm, it will start melting the cream cheese and you'll have a mess before you even start.
The roast is cooked in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes; pork is cooked at 160 degrees, so the roast is done when it gets close to 160. It is ok to pull the roast from the oven a few minutes early and let it rest. Resting the meat after roasting allows juices to seep back into the meat and roasts will rise in temp as it rests. If the bacon is not cooked to your liking, broil under your oven broiler for a few minutes until it reaches your desired crispness.
Th roast can be cut into slices and served with potatoes and vegetables. Each slice has a nice combination of meat, bacon and cream cheese spread and is very flavorful and delicious.
One roast will serves 4-6 people and the recipe is easy to double or triple if you need to feed a crowd.
So if you are looking for a pretty and delicious no fuss roast, try this Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Pork Tenderloin recipe. It's sure to please your crowd and become a regular meal for you.
Comments