Bacon and Ginger Pork Loin

Hi Everyone.  It's time for this month's Secret Recipe Club, where each month, a group of bloggers are assigned a blog, and we get to choose a recipe from that blog to feature on our own blogs, then we all reveal our assigned blogs on the same day.   

This month I was assigned the blog:  WildFlour's Cottage Kitchen by Kelly.  Oh my, did I have a hard time picking a recipe to feature from Kelly's wonderful blog.  There were so many yummy things to choose from.  Pork Tenderloin with Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce (I love all things chipotle), Cheesy BBQ Pulled Pork Party Ring (did someone say CHEESE?), Authentic Pork Egg Rolls (If I had had more time...), but in the end, I chose Bacon Wrapped Gingersnap Pork Loin (has anyone picked up on a theme here?).   

The roast was delicious, and it looks so pretty.  I'd say company worthy for sure.  Thanks, Kelly!

To begin, lay down a large piece of foil (I used nonstick foil - it's awesome!).  Add two rows of bacon, shingling the pieces top to bottom, and overlapping slightly in the middle.

Center the pork roast on the bacon, now read the recipe instructions and realize you were supposed to flip the roast over to coat the bottom first.

So roll the roast over and coat it liberally with mustard, followed by a half of the crumb mixture that I forgot to get a photo of.  Also, I missed the next couple photos because my hands were covered in mustard and crumbs.....

...but after both sides of the roast are coated in mustard and crumbs, wash your hands and wrap the bacon roast, criss-crossing the pieces as you go.  When you're done, place the whole thing on a roasting rack sitting in a large roasting pan.

The foil is pulled up over the roast without being sealed (so steam can escape during cooking).

When 45 minutes have passed, the foil is opened up so the bacon can crisp while the roast continues cooking for 35-45 minutes (internal temp should reach 155F, then rest until it rises to 160F before slicing).  

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• nonstick foil https://amzn.to/3usuReH

• turkey roasting pan with rack https://amzn.to/3GdH88M

• oven probe thermometer https://amzn.to/3ANAx42

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Bacon and Ginger Pork Loin

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pound pork loin roast

• 12 gingersnap cookies, broken

• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

• 1 pound high quality thick-cut bacon

• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Lay a 20-inch wide strip of nonstick foil on a work surface.

3. On top of the foil, line up two rows of bacon, shingling each row and overlapping slightly in the middle where the two rows meet.

4. In a food processor, process the gingersnaps to fine crumbs; add dark brown sugar and pulse until well mixed.

5. Coat bottom (side without the fat cap) of roast with 1 tablespoon mustard, followed by half of the crumb mixture; place bottom side down over the center seam of the two rows of bacon.

6. Repeat the mustard and crumb/mixture on the top of the roast (the side with the fat cap).

7. Start wrapping the bacon over the roast, one slice at a time, criss-crossing as you go until all the bacon is used.

8. Sprinkle liberally with freshly ground black pepper.

9. Place a roasting rack in a large roasting pan (I like to use a v-shaped roasting rack).

10. Lift roast by it's foil sling and transfer to the roasting rack.

11. Bring up sides of the foil and fold together to cover the bacon but don't seal them closed so excess steam can escape in the oven.

12. Bake for 45 minutes, remove from oven, open foil and continue to bake for 35-45 minutes or until an internal temperature of 155F is reached.

13. Allow roast to rest for 10-15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145F; slice and serve.

Notes

• I noticed the rendered bacon fat didn't drain away from my roast while it was in the oven, which resulted in soggy bottom bacon.  

• Next time I'll pierce the foil a number of times so the rendered fat can drain away during the roasting process.  

Salmon Something Somethings

When you're a food blogger, you tend to have friends who are also food bloggers.... and when food bloggers talk, the conversation can start off being about anything, but inevitably, you always find a way to bring it back to food.  That's what happened the other day when I was talking to my dear friend Kim from The Finer Cookie (a fabulous blog, by the way).  I had a function to attend and I needed to come up with a quick appetizer so I asked her to share some ideas.  She spurted off a number of suggestions without hesitation, but my favorite was this one,

"cucumber slices with sour cream something, chives, and something something"  

Ha!  So here's what I came up with - pumpernickel rounds topped with garlic and herb cheese, a slice of cucumber, a slice of smoked salmon, a dollop of sour cream, and I finished it all off with a generous sprinkling of shallot salt, finely ground black pepper, and fresh chopped chives.   

I started by cutting scalloped rounds of pumpernickel bread.  Rye would work have worked too, but I really like the color contrast the pumpernickel provides.  Toast them if you like, but I didn't have time.

I used the 3rd smallest cutter from this dual sided set of cutters.  Basically, you want the bread round to be a little larger than the slices of cucumber you're going to use.

Side note - pumpernickel has always been my favorite - hard to find good pumpernickel these days.  Anyway, my grumpy kid tells me he doesn't like it at all, but guess who keeps using it to make sandwiches?  Ha!

To cut thin, perfectly even slices of cucumber, I used this nifty gadget.

Perfetto!

Alrighty then, top each pumpernickel round with a generous dab of extremely flavorful spreadable garlic and herb cheese.  

I used this garlic and herb cheese by Alouette, but garlic and herb Boursin would be delicious too. 

Top each dollop of cheese with a thin slice of cucumber and press it down to glue it in place. Then add really good quality smoked salmon and a tiny dollop of sour cream.  Starting to look pretty good, huh?  You could eat them just like this, but I have a few flavor bombs up my sleeve.  

The first is shallot salt.  I could sprinkle this stuff on EVERYTHING.  It tastes like a combination of smoky onions and garlic.  So, so good.  

Okay, so sprinkle a healthy dash of shallot salt all over.

And follow with plenty of finely cracked black pepper and chopped fresh chives.   That's all there is to it.  Now take my advice and don't turn your back on these because they disappear fast.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• round cutter set https://amzn.to/3HdWn2Q

• grater/slicer set https://amzn.to/3KTU9I9

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Salmon Something Somethings

makes 20 appetizers

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 sliced pumpernickel bread

• 2 ounces Alouette Garlic and Herb Spreadable Cheese (or Boursin)

• 20 thin slices of English cucumber

• 4 ounces thinly sliced, high quality smoked salmon

• 1 ounce sour cream

• shallot salt (garlic or onion salt would work)

• finely ground black pepper

• chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Cut twenty 2 1/4-inch rounds from the pumpernickel bread. I used this awesome set of dual-sided cutters.

2. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic and herb cheese on each bread round.

3. Add one slice of cucumber on top of cheese and press down slightly.

4. Top cucumber with bite-size pieces of smoked salmon.

5. Top salmon with 1/4 teaspoon sour cream.

6. Sprinkle liberally with shallot salt, finely ground black pepper, and freshly chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Note

• If you want to transport these, use a carrier like this. They don’t travel well on a platter because plastic wrap will smoosh the sour cream.