Apple-Smoked Maple-Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin.

Smoky bliss!

I got this recipe from my good friends over at http://camp-cook.com/.  Camp Cook is a wonderful resource for campfire cooking, dutch oven cooking, grilling, BBQ, and everything or anything the camp cook needs to know. The real experts are over there, give it a look.

INGREDIENTS

For the Brine
2 cups water
1 cup Dale’s Seasoning
1 cup pure maple syrup (we stocked up in Maine this summer)
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cracked pepper or coarse ground pepper
1 Tbsp rubbed sage
2-3 bay leaves
5 large garlic cloves, smashed 

For the Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin, (mine were 7 lbs together, so they were about 3 and 4 lbs each)
2 -3 lbs. sliced bacon
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Cracked pepper or coarse ground pepper
1 cup pure maple syrup 


HOW TO MAKE IT

Brine
Bring all brine ingredients to a boil, stirring to mix well.
Turn off heat and let cool.
When completely cooled pour into a plastic bowl with lid and submerge tenderloin. 
(Mine didn't submerge so I turned them a few times. The original recipe used 2 qts. of water in the brine. I didn't want to water it down that much and just used 2 cups).
Let these tenderloins soak overnight or longer.

Bacon Prep (Do this right before cooking)

Take the maple syrup and put in a bowl, add about 2 tsp or more of cracked pepper
Mix together well. Separate your strips of bacon and set aside. 

Pork Loin Prep
Remove loin from brine – DO NOT throw out the brine if you're smoking or grilling, set aside.
Pat loin dry with paper towel
Season loin with garlic powder, onion powder, and a little cracked pepper.
Take the tapered end of the pork loin and fold it over, hold it together. Dip 1 strip of bacon in the maple pepper mix then wrap tightly around the folded piece of tenderloin. Overlap your bacon and wrap tightly so you do not have loose ends or sagging pieces – if done correctly you won’t have to use toothpicks to keep the bacon in place.
Continue dipping the bacon and wrapping the entire loin. At the end of the last piece of bacon, tuck the end under another tightly wrapped piece of bacon to hold in place.

Take any leftover maple syrup that you dipped your bacon in and evenly pour over the loin.
Sprinkle bacon wrapped loins with a little more pepper (if you haven’t already gone wild with the pepper in the maple syrup and on the pork loin). Place the loins in the smoker and smoke at 200 – 220 degrees until the meat reaches 165 degrees, remove, wrap in foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

* By the way, the USDA now says that you can cook pork roasts to 145 degrees: USDA Recommended Cooking Temps 

I used my old charcoal smoker with apple wood chunks and chips. Any good smoking wood would be fine. 
The pork smoked for about 5 1/2 hours to reach the 145 degree temp.  It was moist, melt in your mouth delicious! I fed 6 adults and 6 kids, with plenty left over. 

If you decide to try this recipe, I would appreciate if you send me a comment and let me know how you liked it.

Thanks, Hometown Hiker.

Sliced and diced.

Black Betty served it up with mashed potatoes, corn salad, and green bean casserole.