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hickory smoked maple-glazed bacon-wrapped loin

(1 rating)
BabasKitchen avatar
Recipe by
Staci Cakes
@BabasKitchen
On a farm in..., GA

This is my go-to recipe to "wow" my guests. READ THE ENTIRE RECIPE BEFORE YOU BEGIN You can make this 3 ways: oven, grill, & smoker. Hands down, smoking is the way to go and the only way I cook this! If you want the hickory smoke flavor but want to oven roast, use a little hickory liquid smoke in your brine. *If Dale's Seasoning is not available in your area you can substitute with Moore's, or simply use soy sauce. **If you don't want to shell out the $$ for real maple syrup, try mixing a little corn syrup & maple flavoring or extract together instead.

(1 rating)
yield 6 - 8
cook time 4 Hr

Ingredients For hickory smoked maple-glazed bacon-wrapped loin

  • BRINE
  • 2 qt
    water
  • 1 c
    dale's seasoning (liquid)*
  • 1 c
    maple syrup**
  • 2/3 c
    dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp
    freshly cracked black pepper, coarse ground
  • 1 Tbsp
    rubbed sage
  • 3
    bay leaves
  • 5 lg
    garlic cloves, smashed
  • TENDERLOIN
  • 4 - 5 lb
    pork tenderloin
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • freshly cracked black pepper, coarse ground
  • 2 - 3 lb
    sliced bacon
  • 1 c
    maple syrup**
  • OTHER & OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
  • hickory wood chips for smoking (apple or pecan work well too)
  • hickory liquid smoke

How To Make hickory smoked maple-glazed bacon-wrapped loin

  • 1
    BRINE Take all of your brine ingredients and bring to a boil on the stove, stirring to mix well. Turn off heat and let cool. When completely cooled pour into a plastic bowl with lid and submerge tenderloin. Let these tenderloins soak overnight.
  • 2
    BACON PREP Put maple syrup in a small bowl, add about 2 tsp or more of cracked pepper. Mix together well. Separate your strips of bacon and set aside.
  • 3
    PORK LOIN Remove loin from brine – DO NOT throw out the brine if you are cooking in the smoker; set aside. Pat loin dry with paper towel Season loin with garlic powder, onion powder, and cracked pepper. ***Most smaller loins come with 2 loins in a package - if you have 2 loins put them together as one before wrapping with bacon, placing tapered end of one loin on thicker end of second loin. Skip folding tapered end step.***
  • 4
    WRAPPING THE LOIN WITH BACON **Before you begin to wrap the loin with bacon, know that you need to dip each piece of bacon in the maple syrup before wrapping around loin.** Take the tapered end of the pork loin and fold it over, hold it together while, with your free hand, take a piece of bacon, dip it in maple syrup and tightly wrap bacon around loin slightly stretching bacon as you wrap. Overlap your bacon and wrap tightly so you have no loose ends or sagging bacon pieces – this ensures you won't have to use toothpicks to keep the bacon in place. Continue wrapping the entire loin. At the end of the last piece of bacon, tuck the end under a piece of bacon that has been tightly wrapped. If you have any leftover maple syrup, drizzle over loin. Sprinkle bacon wrapped loins with a little more pepper.
  • 5
    COOKING: SMOKER The brine that you set aside… in your smoker, if you have a drip/steam pan, instead of using water fill it 1-inch from the top with the brine. If your smoker doesn't have a steam/dip pan, you can use a foil pan and place it on a bottom rack. Place the loins in the smoker and smoke at 200 – 220 degrees until the meat reaches 150 degrees (for safety - I cook to 145), remove, wrap in foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
  • 6
    COOKING: BBQ GRILL Grill using indirect heat method, gently moving tenderloin around to evenly brown. Cook to internal temp of 150, remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
  • 7
    COOKING: OVEN Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap loin with bacon, without dipping in maple syrup. In a roasting pan with roasting rack, place loin on rack. Roast until you reach an internal temp of 140 (about 1hr 15 min). Baste/drizzle with maple syrup, return to oven and cook until internal temp reaches 150 (about 10 more minutes). Remove from oven, let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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