The stuffing will be made from wild rice and mushrooms.
Weather was chilly at about 20°F with snow coming down. Wind was light.
I trimmed and split the meat.
I pounded it as flat as I could get it which was not very much.
The stuffing was made with rosemary, sage, cumin, pepper and crushed garlic. I added some bread crumbs (processed commercial stuffing) and a handful of dried cherries (which actually include cranberries and currants as well.) I mixed in a couple eggs to hold it together and some milk so it wasn't too dry. I didn't want it pulling moisture from the meat.
After spreading the stuffing on the meat, I rolled the whole assembly in parchment paper and stuck it in the car trunk (where it would be safe from neighborhood canines) to firm up for a couple hours. Then the task was to tie it up. On the outside I had to decide between a bacon wrap and a rub. I decided on a wet rub with crushed garlic, cumin, sage, black pepper and a little crushed red pepper in a peanut oil slurry.
The cook was done on the 26" kettle to handle the length of the roll. I used an indirect fire held back by a couple fire bricks. Fire was using some Royal Oak and Stubbs briquettes. I dropped a hickory stick on the lit coals to add some additional smoke flavor. The bottom vent was closed to about 1/3 open and the top to about 2/3. Part way through the cook the top was opened fully. This resulted in a temperature on the lid thermometer of about 350° measured half way between the fire and lid vent. (In other words, the lid vent was positioned opposite the coals when I remembered to do so.) I also wrapped a couple spuds in foil and put them over the coals until done. Here it is ready to come off.
time | temp | comment |
4:30 | ° | Closed up the cooker |
4:40 | 350° (lid) | Meat on! |
5:17 | 400° (right over charcoal) | Meat probes at about 70°. |
6:00 | 320° (opposite charcoal) | Meat probes about 110°. |
6:30 | 350°/130° (lid/meat) | |
7:10 | 350°/153° | Meat off! |
The meat and stuffing had good flavor. I could have used a few more cherries and a little less cumin. The pork was neither dry nor overly moist.
What to do differently next time: I can think of several things. First, I could slice the meat thinner doing a spiral butterfly rather than just one cut. I might also take it to a lower temperature. With the middle at 153° the pork was well past the required 140°. I could also cut the tenderloin in half and do two different treatments, trying out different fillings and/or bacon vs. wet rub.
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