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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Bites + Small Plate Giveaway


From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is the second of three Sponsored posts written by me on behalf of the National Pork Board. They recently conducted a survey to identify food trends that are appealing to American cooks this holiday season. They found six recurring themes for their 2011 Pork's Perfect Paring's guide and asked cookbook author Jill Silverman Hough to develop a pork recipe to go with each of them. They also asked some members of the blogging community to provide recipes and holiday ideas for each of the themes they were highlighting. I focused my attention on the Smitten with Small Plates category and for the next two days I'll be featuring pork dishes that work well as appetizers or small plate meals.

I think you'll all enjoy the recipes I'm featuring and the National Pork Board has a Small Plates gift set waiting for one of you. The gift set includes: $25 worth of pork coupons; Jill Silverman Hough cookbooks, including 100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with the Wines You Love and 100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates to Enjoy with the Wines You Love; an instant-read digital thermometer; tapas-style small plates and decorative skewers for holiday appetizers. If you'd like a chance to win, simply comment on one, or all three, of the recipes that are part of this promotion. Everyone can enter up to three entries to the drawing. The winner, chosen by a random number drawing, will be announced on Saturday, December 17th. Good luck! While I have received a similar gift package, the opinions in this post are 100% mine.

Small families have long appreciated the ease with which pork tenderloin moves from the refrigerator to the table. While it packs a protein punch, it is low in fat and calories and makes for healthy, as well as fast and delicious, family meals. It's amazingly versatile and lends itself to many types of cuisines. That versatility is one of the reasons I knew it would be perfect for the small plate dishes I wanted to prepare for this Pork Board promotion. The recipe I'm featuring today is enormously flavorful. Cubes of tenderloin are dipped in a maple mustard sauce and then wrapped in a limp, but cooked, bacon before being charbroiled. All elements of the dish can be made well in advance of serving, so this is an easy appetizer to prepare for entertaining. Tenderloins vary in weight, so I can't give you truly exact quantities for the ingredients used in the recipe and you'll have to be a bit flexible. You should be able to get 24 1-inch cubes from a 12-ounce tenderloin. You will need half a slice of bacon for each cube you plan to serve. This is another appetizer that is very easy to make and I think those of you who try these pork and bacon bites will love them. Here's the recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Bites with Maple-Mustard Dipping Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Maple Mustard Sauce
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
Pork Tenderloin Bites
12 to 18 pieces thick cut maple smoked bacon
1 (12 to 16-oz.) pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper
24 to 36 toothpicks soaked in water for 30 minutes

Directions:
1) Preheat oven broiler.
2) Combine maple syrup and mustard in a small bowl. Mix well. Pour 1/4 cup of syrup mixture into a separate small bowl. Set aside. Add sour cream or yogurt to original mixture. Set aside.
3) Cut bacon slices in half. Cook just until limp. Bacon should be pliable but cooked. Drain on paper toweling.
4) Trim pork tenderloin and remove silver skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut tenderloin into 1-inch cubes. Dip cubes in maple-mustard mixture. Wrap each cube with bacon and secure with a toothpick.
5) Broil 5-inches from broiler element for 6 to 7 minutes, basting with maple-mustard sauce and turning once. Serve immediately with dipping sauce. Yield: 24 to 36 pork tenderloin bites.

Cook's Note. I used hollowed lime halves to hold individual portions of dipping sauce. Any small dish can be used.








One Year Ago Today: Christmas Cranberry Conserve














Two Years Ago Today: St. Lucia Buns

72 comments:

  1. Oh, yum!!! And even though there is bacon, the sauce looks almost better than the rest!!

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  2. what a cute appetizer! and it looks simple to put together too!

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  3. You can imagine, I'm sure, that being married to a Dane, I cook a lot of pork. I like the idea of this appetiser - it would go over well at my house!

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  4. I think even I can attempt to make th is as an appetizer when the family comes visiting for our pre-Christmas get together. I love the mustard/maple glazes. The "blue" trimmed plate caught my eye, as the shade of blue is one of my most favorite. I look forward to your next couple of small plate appetizers. Greetings from Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, Mary.

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  5. SO many good things in each small bite my mouth would spontaneously combust!!

    Enter the giveaway on my blog - and see if we can win each other's prizes!!

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  6. My husband won't eat pork, but I do!! This looks yummy!!! Love to see your carnitas recipe if you have one.

    Cheers!

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  7. This sounds great! Love the "cook the bacon first" tip. So many times they say use raw bacon and by the time it cooks the meat is way over done:@)

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  8. This looks like the perfect little appetizer to serve at a holiday dinner party!

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  9. this reminds me of pigs in blankets great idea to use tenderloin pieces instead of chipolata's though

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  10. Wow these are perfect for the holiday and so gourmet! YUMMO! HAppy Holiday your photo is amazing! I love this one!

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  11. Those look positively delicious - that bit of caramelization on the outside of the bacon is driving me crazy...I might have to make these this weekend!

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  12. I can't imagine anything better than pork wrapped pork.

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  13. Sounds wonderful! You had me at bacon!

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  14. Oh, yeah!! Lovin' these pork tidbits, Mary!! Blessings ~ tanna

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  15. Love these pork bites, it looks festive!

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  16. Another great recipe for pork which I will admit, we do not eat enough. Love your little lime dipping container. Cute, cute. And I am sure very good.

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  17. You have a great blog. I'm glad to have visited it. I love your presentations!

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  18. They do sound very tempting Mary, all things with a little bacon are heavenly:D

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  19. Wow! These look wonderful. I have a bacon wrapped pork tenderloin that I love to make but have never tried it as an appetizer, yum! Great idea!

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  20. Delicious, I can't wait to try these at a holiday party.Thanks so much for the recipe!

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  21. These do sound great. We use a lot of pork tenderloins at our house in many different ways.
    I just posted on how I give them as gifts....seriously...I give pork tenderloins en croute as gifts. People are always so surprised and they love it.

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  22. With the combination of pork and bacon, this is bound to be enormously popular.

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  23. I need another hors d'oeuvres recipe for my holiday party & these tenderloin bites look perfect! Thanks for sharing.

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  24. I won't be able to stop thinking about the maple-mustard sauce until I make it.

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  25. Small plates seem to be all the rage lately.

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  26. What a delicious and cute appetizer!Kisses,dear Mary!

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  27. What a great combination of ingredients. I can't wait to try it.

    Vicki
    uptowngal001@hotmail.com

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  28. Hubby is a bacon lover. I wrap in bacon, he eats it all. He will love this. I imagine prosciutto would work as well for those not into bacon.

    Another great idea, Mary.
    Cheers!!

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  29. When is the party? I hope my invitation is in the mail. These look scrumptious. I'm still working on my menu for the holidays. Youngest son has already sent his preferences!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  30. Yes, small plates are definitely all the rage now. I work in the food industry in marketing and have definitely heard it talked about so many times when we discuss food trends. I love your pairing of pork tenderloin and bacon. I have to admit tenderloin isn't my favorite cut since it to me isn't quite as flavorful as a good pork shoulder but I love the idea of pairing it with bacon. I bet it really enhances the flavor.

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  31. Those pork tenderloin bits looks excellent..

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  32. Hello Mary,
    I love bacon! I would love to try one of thos, they look delicious...
    Big kiss for you :)
    Have a really nice day Mary

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  33. Mary, This is a great looking appetizer. We're putting together a similar treat for a party tomorrow, little smokie sausages wrapped in bacon then rolled in brown sugar and baked. Your approach sounds even more luscious! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  34. This recipe sounds great!! We are big pork fans in this house... I am making pork tenderloin for Christmas! I will have to jot this recipe down. chefl@swbell.net

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  35. I love the idea of bacon and mustard! Mmmmm!!!

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  36. Simple and delicious, a perfect combination for one perfect bite.

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  37. sounds delicious!! great appetiser!

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  38. OMG...........pork wrapped in bacon? I've died and gone to heaven.
    psrrn@aol.com

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  39. Oh Baby...I love bacon, and that sauce sounds wonderful! Yum!

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  40. Sounds like a top notch appetizer- we really like pork tenderloin and love anything wrapped in bacon.

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  41. These look wonderful, too, Mary! I'd like a chance at the give-away.

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  42. Mmmmm pork tenderloin!

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  43. You had me at Bacon! This sounds so good and looks to be so easy to make. I will have to put this on the menu!

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  44. Love the giveaway and the first recipe too. Pork tenderloin is definitely one of my faves. I love it grilled, hot, and it makes great sandwiches cold. The bacon wrapped tenderloin bits would be great for an appetizer and the maple mustard glaze would complement the pork so nicely.

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  45. Bacon wrapped pork...can't go wrong there!

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  46. Looks delish. Can't wait to try it.

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  47. Mary, I'm making pork tenderloins (exactly how I've yet to decide) for what we and our girls fondly call "little Christmas" -- the Sunday before. This appetizer, though, looks like a shoe-in for our NY Eve. Great stuff!

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  48. Yes, you had me at "bacon wrapped." I fully admit it. ;)

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  49. I like pork tenderloin,this recipe seems easy to make and tasty..have a good day mary...

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  50. This is such a perfect appetizer for holiday entertaining. Who doesn't like bacon? I love your maple mustard dipping sauce too! Yum! Yes, I would love to win this awesome giveaway package! Pick me please, oink oink! :@)

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  51. Mmmmmmm.. pork wrapped in pork?? Yes, please may I have another?? :)

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  52. It's funny, I'm not a big bacon fan, but I do seem to like just about anything wrapped with bacon. Great appetizer.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  53. Mmmm, this one sounds wonderful as well! I'm not a big fan of dijon mustard, but maybe mixed in with the maple syrup it wouldn't be so bad. I do love sweet & savory together.

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  54. Oh and of course, please enter me in your giveaway. Thanks Mary!

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  55. Yum!! This is making my mouth water!! Love your blog!

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  56. Nice! I love all your small plate ideas. I recently went to SlowPig in Madison, and it was all about pork. The appetizers make it so much more palatable for me. These look spectacular!

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  57. Everything about this dish sounds and looks amazing! Anything wrapped in bacon is better :) My mom actually wrapped little chicken pieces in bacon today and it reminds me of this. I like that they're bites, not huge pieces and the maple-mustard glaze sounds soo good! My mouth is watering :)

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  58. Oh MY! That Maple Mustard dipping sauce, in a LIME HALVE!! Genius! Thanks for sharing. This will make my Christmas Eve appetizer menu for sure!

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  59. yes, please!! everything is better with bacon, no?? ;)

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  60. Looks so good, I think I am goin gto try that.

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  61. Oh - yummy! My husband will love these - thanks for the recipe!

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  62. These look so tasty. I did my whole Thanksgiving as a small plate dinner. It worked well and cut down on the overeating aspect, too.

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  63. Looks simply delicious and juicy.. I bet that maple mustard sauce tastes good too, would be an interesting combo with the mustard and syrup.

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  64. You have such an awesome collection of recipes. There's so much I can learn from you. I am following you n look forward

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  65. Ate them. Good. Dipped them in Ranch dressing.

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