Cassie’s Ruminations

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

This is a creation of my own, inspired by many recipes online. It turned out quite well for off the cuff. The bacon was a bit overwhelming, and I’ll definitely use regular hickory or alderwood smoked next time rather than honey maple, but we’re definitely using this as a launching point! The salt and pepper crust was great, and the pork was tender and juicy.

Next time we’re going with an Italian theme: cutting the bacon down to 2 oz (2 slices), dicing the mushrooms, adding some diced olives and fresh basil and oregano to the stuffing, and adding some oregano to the top crust as well.

We served this with some green salad and buttermilk biscuits (I cheated and used Bisquick tonight).

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Serves 6

2 pork tenderloins, about 3 lbs total weight
8 oz bacon
8 oz small button mushrooms, quartered
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
kosher salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the pork tenderloins nearly in half lengthwise, butterflying them.

Chop the bacon into bite sized chunks. In a skillet, brown the bacon until crisp. Remove to a bowl, leaving the fat in the skillet. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, and garlic, and saute until tender. Add to the bacon and toss.

Spoon the mixture across one of the pork tenderloins. Lay the other pork tenderloin across the top, and tie the two together with kitchen twine. Season the meat with kosher salt and black pepper.

Cook until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the top pork tenderloin reaches 160 degrees F, about 45 minutes.