Bacon and Mushroom Herb Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Of all the pork meat cuts available, next to back ribs, pork tenderloin is my family’s favourite. It is versatile and delicious, tender and flavourful. With the holidays coming up or for a fancy weekend or weeknight dinner, this Bacon and Mushroom Herb Stuffed Pork Tenderloin recipe is one to try! 

The recipe is easily doubled or tripled depending on how many you are serving. It is not difficult to make and looks impressive. Spoon the pan juices over your plated pieces and with your choice of sides – baby potatoes and asparagus is a great combination – fabulous and delish!

Prep time: 15 Minutes / Cook Time: 20 Minutes / Resting Time: 5 minutes / Number of Servings: 2-3 per Tenderloin

Ingredients

• 2 slices Bacon - chopped

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (more as needed)

• 1 cup (8oz) Cremini mushrooms - thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup Cooking Onion, chopped

• 2 Garlic Cloves - minced

• ½ tsp each Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Parsley, Ground Sage

• Sea Salt and Black Pepper – to taste

• 1½ lb Pork Tenderloin, a fat one is better than a long thin one – trimmed (see below)

• 1/3-1/2 cup Water or White Wine

How It’s Made

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2. Trim and Slice the Tenderloin:
   Cut away as much of the visible fat from the outside of the tenderloin as possible. Remove the silver skin layer as this does not cook away or become soft during cooking/roasting and becomes chewy and difficult to eat. The way I remove this silver skin is to start at one end of the tenderloin, slide a sharp pointed knife under the skin and gently move the knife up the length of the tenderloin under the skin, cutting away the silver skin only and as little of the meat as possible.

   With a sharp knife, cut a slit all the way down the long end of the tenderloin – IMPORTANT: do not cut all the way through. Open it up and lay the cut tenderloin flat and cover with parchment or plastic wrap. Pound the meat, with the flat side of a meat pounder (or a rolling pin, or a small cooking pan, applying a lot of pressure) to flatten it to 1/2" thick. Take care not to tear the meat and create holes.

   Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

3. Stuffing for Tenderloin:
   In a stove-top, oven-safe pan large enough to hold the one or as many tenderloins as you are making*, add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring, until browned (2-3 minutes). If the bacon was very lean and didn’t give off a little fat, you may need to add a tablespoon of olive oil. If the bacon is very fatty, spoon off some of the fat before adding the rest of the stuffing ingredients – you only want about a tablespoon of fat from the bacon. Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic and spices. Sauté, stirring, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and have become browned – about 5 minutes.

4. Stuff and Secure the Pork Tenderloin:
   Spread the bacon/mushroom mixture evenly over the surface of the tenderloin. Bring up the sides to meet together or even overlap and secure with kitchen string (my preferred way) or secure with toothpicks. You can use a long piece of string and criss-cross top and bottom or take smaller pieces and tie it in 2-inch spaces along the length of the tenderloin (the photo has both!). It doesn’t need to look pretty – mine rarely does – as you will be removing the strings / toothpicks before serving. You just want it secure so the filling doesn’t fall out.

   In the same pan as you cooked the bacon/mushroom mixture, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully place tenderloin in the skillet, starting with the seam side down, and sear about 2 minutes per side so the tenderloin is seared all the way around.

   Add the 1/3 cup water (or white wine) to the pan and deglaze the pan (scrape up the bits stuck to the bottom and sides of the pan. Leave liquid in the pan or add a bit more before the next step. You want a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the pan to make fabulously flavoured drippings/sauce.

5. Roast the Tenderloin:
   Transfer the pan with the tenderloin to the oven and bake at 400˚F for 20 minutes. Test with a meat thermometer to ensure it has reached 145˚F in the thickest portion. Remove from oven.

   Transfer the tenderloin to a cutting board, cover it with foil and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.

6. Serving the Tenderloin:
   Slice into rings – some may fall apart but that’s ok – it will be delicious in a ring or in pieces. Spoon some pan drippings from the pan over your plated slices. If there isn’t a lot of drippings, add a bit more water or white wine and simmer on the stove top for a couple of minutes until it thickens slightly.

Enjoy!

*If you don’t have a stove-top oven-proof pan, you can sear the tenderloin(s) in a regular skillet and transfer to a oven -proof dish to roast in the oven.

Variations

• Reduce the mushrooms to ½ cup and add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pistachios or whole pine nuts to the stuffing mixture.

• Add 1/4 cranberries or finely chopped broccoli to the stuffing mixture.

• Add ½ cup cream to the drippings/sauce after removing the roasted tenderloin and cook down until it thickens.