Continuing The Trend

Unbelievably, I grilled two days in a row!  I would have to go back MANY moons to find the last time that happened.  It was actually much nicer today than yesterday, and the weather is supposed to get even nicer over the next couple of days.  Thus, I just may even grill out a couple of more times this week!  Last night, The Bride requested pork tenderloin.  As I perused The Guide this morning, I realized that I was down to my last recipe for this cut of meat, so that made the decision easy.  After work, I picked up what I needed for the Butterflied Tenderloin with Rice Salad on page 181.

I started the marinade as soon as I got home, as I wanted this to have as much flavor as possible.  With The Bride having an anticipated arrival time of only about three hours, every minute would count.  On a sad note, I used up the last of the honey that I had picked up last summer at the farmer's market my parents took me to in Virginia.

What I was eager to investigate about this recipe was that although I have a fair amount of experience with pork tenderloin, I have yet to try the technique of butterflying them.  After removing silverskin and fat, I made my incision and opened up the meat.

 

Taking care to lay down Saran Wrap beforehand, I used my rolling pin (in a hammering motion, not a rolling one) to flatten out the tenderloin to an even thickness.  

With both of the tenderloins now prepared, I put them in a jellyroll pan so that I could pour the marinade over them and not have it leak all over my fridge.

So in went the marinade, and I did my best to make sure that both sides of the meat were coated.  I covered the pan with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge.  To kill time while The Bride was still away, I removed the Christmas lights from our tree, before taking it out to the curb.

Flashing forward a few hours now, The Bride is home and on the couch recovering from a long day's work.  It was time for me to get the ball rolling!  I fired up The Forge, and while it was getting nice and hot, I started in on the rice salad.  The first step is to get the dressing ready.

The salad calls for a cup of peeled and seeded cucumber, which after you do so, doesn't leave you with too much of that fruit left.

Okay, I admit it, I cheated...you are supposed to use a wild rice, which would take over an hour to cook.  Let's just say that I wasn't "feeling it."  So I used microwaveable brown rice, which was ready in two and a half minutes.

The mint and celery were diced as well, and the salad was starting to come together.

The whisk was actually a terrific tool for stirring and incorporating all of the ingredients.

The tenderloins looked and smelled amazing.

 While those rested, I went about plating.  I dug out my PVC rings, which are still a super-cheap and fun way to plate!

The key is to press down on whatever it is that you are putting inside the rings, and then to let it sit there for a minute to set.

Once you remove the ring, the rice salad will sit all nice and pretty on your plate!

From there, top it with your main course and call it a day!

So, I learned a new technique today (butterflying a tenderloin), and I will declare it a success.  Three hours proved to not quite be enough marinade time, but the pork was still quite tasty.  I would have liked it a little more if it was given more time to absorb the more subtle flavors of the marinade.   Still, this technique will be remembered and reused.  

For the second day in a row, I was less than impressed with the mint.  Maybe it is because I am used to the mint that I grow in my herb garden, which is currently unavailable for the next several months.  I was apprehensive about flavors clashing (mint and cucumber in the rice salad, sesame oil and ginger in the pork), but they seemed to mellow and get along just fine.  The pork was juicy, which was another concern I initially had when reading that the tenderloins would be butterflied.  I did shorten the recommended cooking time by a few minutes, which was a good call.  Otherwise, this rather lean cut of meat would have dried out too quickly.

Well, let's see what the rest of the week has in store!