Inexperienced and advanced chefs alike will love this recipe for its simplicity and wonderful flavor. That flavor is the result of the rosemary, combined garlic and oregano, and of course the who-doesn’t-love-bacon wrap.
This recipe is easily converted to a slow cooker meal. Instead of placing the tenderloin strips on a cookie sheet in the oven, just put them a casserole style slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. You could add a 1/4 cup of water to the slow cooker for additional moisture, but I’ve neglected that several times and the meat was still delicious. When cooking this way, the bacon will be cooked but not crisped. It’s still great!
Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lbs pork tenderloin
- 8 slices uncooked bacon
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Slice tenderloin in half lengthwise and again in half crosswise to form 4 thick strips
- Rinse rosemary sprigs and pat dry, then remove several leaves from the bottom of each
- Dice the removed rosemary leaves
- In a small bowl, mix diced rosemary leaves, garlic, and oregano with 1 tsp olive oil to form a paste
- Pierce each tenderloin strip in two places and insert about 1 tsp of seasoning paste into each cut
- Place 1 tsp oil on each strip and rub to coat the entire pieces
- Wrap each tenderloin strip with two pieces of bacon
- Place tenderloin strips on a cookie sheet, then sprinkle salt and pepper over each
- Place one rosemary sprig on each tenderloin strip
- Tent a piece of aluminum foil over the cookie sheet, place on the center rack in the oven
- Roast for 45 minutes then remove foil and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes until meat reaches internal temperature of 145 F and bacon has crisped
- Remove from oven, leave covered, and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.