Pork Tenderloin – Stuffed & Grilled
Pork Tenderloin stuffed with swiss chard and pineapple, then grilled over charcoal is amazing. However at first we used to have mixed success with it. Sometimes it was amazing, and other times the meat would be a soft, almost pasty like texture. But we’ve finally figured it out and now are excited to share the recipe with everyone.
Grilled Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Recipe
Disappointment solved. Ever have a dish that stumps you? You make it sometimes and it comes out incredible, then other times it’s just , ehh. You start going through your head trying to figure out where you went wrong. What are the variables that changed? Ingredients, timing, heat… What did I do wrong? Frustrating, isn’t it? However there is also a by-product of the hair-pulling frustration. “Oh yeah!” joy when you finally figure it out. Today I’m saying, “Oh yeah!”
The dish is Pork Tenderloin stuffed with swiss chard and pineapple, then grilled over charcoal. The pork tenderloin is first butterflied then allowed to absorb a ginger/soy marinade. Next, some swiss chard is blanched then seasoned with sauteed shallots and garlic, then combined with sweet, ripe pineapple dices. That mix is then put wrapped up into the pork loin, tied up, and topped with a slightly spicy soy-caramel glaze that is brushed on as it grills over charcoal that have had some smoker chips thrown on top for a little extra kick. Sounds quite tasty, doesn’t it? And it when it comes out right, this grilled pork tenderloin is so tasty. However, in our experimentation with this dish, it hasn’t always come out correctly. The flavor it there, but the texture is not consistent. Sometimes perfect, other times the meat will seem a bit pasty. Being that the pork tenderloin is cooked over charcoal, the temperature is always a variable and open to suspicion. Especially if we are cooking with charcoal a we’ll often let the coals cool a bit past their peak to decrease their temp some.
Problems with Pineapple
However there was another suspect. The pineapple. That sweet little fruit who’s flavor and image is symbolic of the beautiful, laid back charm of Hawaii. I’ll warn you now, don’t be fooled by it’s apparent innocence, pineapple has got issues. We had know pineapple juices to affect chicken and break down meat excessively, but chicken meat can be a little finicky. Many times if you marinate it too long, that break down will occur. Pork is usually much more resilient.
The stuffed pork tenderloin was a dish we wanted to serve on Easter. We were having a group of fantastic friends over, and this would be a great dish to pull off of the grill. So we tested it, 4 times. First, we tried isolating the heat, then tried a different substitute for the pineapple. It seemed the heat was the issue. If it the coals were too cool, the meat was pasty, however a little hotter and it was right on. Confident in our findings, the pork tenderloin was put on the menu for Sunday, little did we know that we were straight up wrong.
Sunday’s meal was incredible. We started with an amuse bouche, a truffle custard egg based off of Chef thomas keller . It’s was eye-rolling, shiver inducing good. (Recipe will be coming later when we remake it and shoot it) And the tasty food kept coming. Everyone contributed to the meal, and everyone knows their stuff. Ohhs and ahhs were commonly heard, and well deserved. Finally deep into the evening it was time for the pork tenderloin. Coals were of the correct heat and close attention was given to it’s grilling and everything should have been perfect. Should have been… After slicing and tasting, the pork was pasty again. Not terribly so, but still not the texture it should have been. I told you that pineapple had issues. I had missed one other element. Time of interaction between the pineapple and the pork. We had stuffed the pork ahead of time, so it would be quick to put on the grill. That elongated stuffing time had allowed the pineapple the break down the pork tenderloin’s center into a mild pastiness.
Determined to conquer this potentially super tasty grilled tenderloin, we have re-tested our theories. Now the pork is hitting perfect every time.
Tips on Grilled Pork Tenderloin:
- The heat. Grill over direct heat. The coals should be at medium-high temp or the gas level turned up to medium-high. Too much heat and the pork tenderloin will cook too quick on the outside and not cook all the way through the inside. Too cool and the meat looses some of it’s bounce and the pineapple juice has the chance to make the meat’s texture pasty.
- The stuffing. Pineapple is one of the tastiest options, but you can not stuff ahead of time. Stuff and tie only when you are ready to grill then put that bad boy on the barbie. If you need to stuff ahead of time, change the fruit to dried cherries, golden raisins, currants, or such. Give them a little extra zing by macerating them in dark rum or another inebriating beverage of your choice for about 30 minutes prior to stuffing.
- That’s the tricks. If you are nervous about attempting this, think of it as a learning experience. That’s how we all become better cooks.
-Todd
Grilled Pork Tenderloin stuffed w/ Swiss Chard and Pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 Pork Tenderloin (about 1 pound)
Marinade Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil
- 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce (depending upon the saltiness of your preferred soy)
- 1 Tablespoon grated Fresh Ginger
- fresh cracked black pepper
Stuffing Ingredients:
- 8 Swiss Chard Leaves , stems removed
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 4 Shallots , diced
- 3 cloves Garlic , crushed
- 1/2 cup Pineapple , diced
- Sea Salt
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Glaze Ingredients (optional, if not using just brush with some oil)
- 1/4 cup Oil
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 1 Thai Chili (roughly cut)
- 1 clove Garlic , crushed or minced
- 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
Instructions
- Butterfly and pound the pork tenderloin so that it is a even layer less than 1/2" thick. (for demo see Jacques Pepin here at @ 12:55 mark).
- Combine all marinade ingredients together. Put pork tenderloin in a bag and pour in marinade. Turn to completely coat the tenderloin, seal the bag and put in fridge to marinate (recommend 4 hrs to overnight, but if less it will still be tasty.)
- Prepare stuffing. Cut swiss chard into approx. 2" slices. Bring pot of water to boil, add sea salt to taste, then par-boil swiss chard for 1-2 minutes. Drain, place in a ice bath until cool, then drain again. Squeeze out excess water.
- Heat grapeseed oil in pan over medium-high heat, add shallots and sauté for 1 minute. Add garlic and saute one more minute. Combine cooked swiss chard, shallots, garlic, and pineapple in a bowl. Toss to combine and season lightly with sea salt and pepper.
- Heat grill to medium-medium high direct heat. (If using charcoal, allow to heat up all the way then start to cool off. This dish is perfect to grill after you've already grilled on high heat for burgers or similar) Lay out pork tenderloin. Layer one half lengthwise with stuffing. Fold other half of tenderloin back over to enclose stuffing, then tie the pork tenderloin to help keep it's shape.
- If using, combine all of the glaze ingredients (oil, soy sauce, Thai chili, garlic, and brown sugar).
- If possible, throw some smoker chips on charcoal, then place tenderloin on grill. Cook for approx. 8 minutes, then turn over. Brush top side with glaze and grill another 6 min. Turn, brush with glaze and grill another 3 minutes. Turn again, brush with glaze and grill another 3 min.
- Push to feel done-ness, or cut to make sure pork tenderloin is fully cooked (times will vary depending on grill heat and tenderloin thickness) After pork is done, remove from grill and allow to rest for @ 5 min. Slice into approx. 8 medallions and serve.
I’m really impressed with this stuffed pork tenderloin recipe. I love how healthy this is for my low-carb diet.
I have a pork tenderloin that has this recipe written all over it! The addition to fruit always lends to a wonderful stuffing- last week we stuffed a tenderloin with dried apricots and kiwis.. surprisingly it was fantastic so I can’t wait to try pineapple!!
Last week-end I found this recipe by accident and it is so delicious! Of course you need spices to get most out of the flavour of the meat, especially when cooking pork. But this stuffing is really smart and creates a perfect taste.
I used this recipe on a 5.6lb loin, and it was the best pork I have ever had. Marinated overnight, grilled on propane, for considerably longer than listed here because of the size (ended up being a bit over an hour total), and it was juicy and amazingly flavorful. This is an awesome dish.
julie – Story is true. I swear. I felt better after hearing Quinn the chef/owner at Hatfield’s having issues working out a recipe too. That’s part of the fun and challenge of cooking. T.
Tricky tricky pineapple! Damn you. I’m with Leah on this one… I think everything you guys make is perfect the first time around and you are just making up this cute story to make us feel better. 🙂 Well I do.
Jen – Damn it, we just need to find a way to live closer to each other. Miss you, too!
shayne – Thanks. Hope our learning and sharing has helped your problem.
Jude – Thanks.
Tim – Very interesting. The pepper counteraction sets up a whole new train of though for the stuffing. We had a bit of spice on the glaze, but inside would be nice, too. Yay science, indeed. More experimentation ahead! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks again for visiting and sharing everyone. Happy grilling. Todd.
Nice work on discovering the culprit. I remember on Heston Blumenthal’s first show he talked about pineapple and how that same protease — bromelain — prevents you from making pineapple jelly as it breaks down the gelatin protein.
His solution was to gently warm the pineapple juice he was using with a few slices of red bell pepper. These contain a chemical that inactivates the enzyme, and are mild enough (particularly at such a gentle heat) to not impart any off flavour to the pineapple (he strained the capsicum out afterwards). I wonder whether mixing some finely diced peppers into the stuffing would have a similar effect? Or even better, something hotter to give a bit of a kick to the dish?
Yay science!
Haha will keep that in little pineapple tidbit in mind. Enjoyed reading your trains of thought while solving your culinary dilemma.
Enjoyable post, as always. thank you for the information, now something I have been working on and has hit or miss results now may be fixed. thanks.
Way to bitch-slap that pork into submission! I love the repeated experiments – reminds me of lab classes really, but with an edible (and delicious) ending. Now I’m jealous that I don’t live there nor you guys here! wahnnnnn.
cheffresco – Thank you.
Heather – It’s fantastic grilled. Definitely something for summer,
Manggy – We wish you could have been here too. We’ll just have to go visit you in the Philippines!
Leah – We feel lucky to have such incredible friends like you to share our lives with. There are always humbling days in the kitchen, but that helps keep us seeking more and develops us into better cooks.
pam – (a slightly evil laugh is heard from the WORC household)
“Chicken can be a little pansy ass” – my favorite food blog line ever!
Hey guys! Yummy pork loin recipe! We made one for Easter that was from a local organic pig, holy mole was it great! We made little piggy grunts during dinner. I have always wanted to stuff one though. I am looking forward to grilling….everything!!! I was just thinking about that today as I grilled some asparagus rafts. They were simple and magnificent! Just posted about it.
Happy grilling!
Dana Zia
http://danazia.wordpress.com/
See, and I had no idea what a challenge that dish was. I always think everything you make comes out perfect the first time 🙂 Makes me feel better about the ice cream debacle. I’ve had similar experiences with high-acid fruits and meat, I like to think of it as the ceviche-effect without all the good taste. But I like the way you break it down here. I’m usually restrained for that very reason and I think you take the guess-work out of it. Thanks. And of course thanks for being your incredibly wonderful selves and sharing Easter with us. We are blessed.
I never knew there were so many issues– unnerving as I love pairing pork with pineapple! Even with the abundance of fresh pineapple though, I still use canned (and unwittingly avoid the whole bromelain issue). I’m glad that you got it sorted out; it looks fantastic! Wish I coulda been there! 🙂