Bacon-Wrapped Blueberry Bourbon BBQ Pork Tenderloins

Local blueberry season doesn't start until July around here, but I'm not about to let a little thing like THAT stop me from getting a jump on the season!

Grocery store prices on those bountiful, beautiful, USA-grown blue berries (the ones in my fridge are from Florida) are nearing rock bottom prices right now, so until my local farm markets have them fresh from the bush, the supermarket variety will do just fine.

For the next month or so around the Dinner Plan-it household, bargain blueberries from Kuhns, Giant Eagle and Costco will be studding breads and muffins, pancakes and waffles and fruit salads galore. When the REALLY sweet local berries hit the farm markets, that's when I'll crank it up to blueberry pie time. (I may be drooling just a bit thinking of a deep dish, sugar topped and lattice-crusted delightful dessert...WITH vanilla ice cream, of course!)

Last Sunday I took a couple of pork tenderloins, bespeckled them with a healthy polka-dotting of blueberries and garlic cloves, then wrapped them in thinly sliced bacon before roasting the tenderloins off until the bacon was crisp on top and the pork still juicy.

While the tenderloins roasted, I threw together a simple glaze/barbecue sauce that amped up the blueberry-ness of the dish. The result? Pure savory blueberry and pork deliciousness!

Until those precious blue gems make their all-too-short annual appearance at the markets of Shenot's and Soergel's (and hopefully in my Dillner Farms CSA basket...fingers crossed), here's the recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Blueberry Bourbon BBQ Pork Tenderloins. Enjoy!

Bacon-Wrapped Blueberry Bourbon BBQ 

Pork Tenderloins

• 2 pork tenderloins - NOT the preseasoned kind that's shot up with all sorts of artificial flavors and such...just the plain, pure, pork tenderloin itself, thank you
• 1 C fresh blueberries
• 1/2 head of fresh garlic, separated into cloves, peeled and sliced lengthwise in half (or quarters if the cloves are very large)
• 1/2 pound very thinly sliced bacon - more or less to cover the pork tenderloins

Remove the tenderloins from their packaging and dry them off...the ones I buy come packaged 2 to a package which explains why I specify two. (If your package only contains 1 tenderloins, cut the recipe in half!) Nestle the tenderloins into a roasting pan they will fit into nicely.

With the tip of a sharp knife, cut rows of slits into the tenderloins about 1" apart almost to the bottom of the roast. (See pic.) 



Alternate inserting as many blueberries as a slit will hold with a sliver of garlic until all the slits are filled. I push the berries and garlic deep into the meat with a finger. Works nicely.

Once the slits are filled, lay slices of bacon lengthwise until the roast is completely covered. 

Roast at 400 degrees for about half an hour and then brush the reserved sauce over the bacon covering the bacon completely. Brush with the reserved sauce a couple more times and continue roasting until the bacon is browned and the pork still juicy. (I know the hot chefs today cook their pork to still pink inside. I can't do that...I like mine cooked through with NO pink. Sue me. That's why I don't give you a time to take it out of the oven...take it out when it's done to YOUR liking!) 

Remove the roasts from the oven and let rest ten minutes before slicing.

While the tenderloins are roasting, make the sauce.


Sauce:

• 1/2 C store-bought BBQ sauce - I used Soergel's own Sweet & Smoky, but use any GOOD bottled BBQ sauce that fits the sweet/smoky profile
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 C fresh blueberries
• 3 T bourbon

In a small, deep saucepan, bring all the sauce ingredients to a boil and stir until the blueberries begin to burst. Remove from heat and whir smooth with an immersion (stick) blender or carefully pour the sauce into a regular blender and process until smooth. Pour 1/3 of the sauce into a bowl to use as a baste and keep the rest warm to serve as a sauce when serving.

To Serve:
Slice the tenderloins into nice thick pieces, serve with sauce and start looking forward to LOCAL blueberry season and blueberry pie!

NOTE: This would be fabulous on the grill!

Red Plum Blueberry Streusel Cutie Pies

Have you seen the recent spate of jar pies on recipe sites around the internet lately? Not only the internet features these adorable little individual desserts, Meat & Potatoes in downtown Pittsburgh always has at least one on their daily menu. They are SO easy to make and with it just being the two of us at home now, individual pies make much more sense that a big one. I'm tired of throwing out what we can't eat!

Our 4th of July picnic-for-two seemed just the right time to whip up a batch of these little cutie pies (yes, pun intended). I had a red, white and blue dessert in mind AND just happened to have blueberries and red plums on hand to suit the color theme of the day. Because gluten-free pie dough is such a pain to work with - although I could have just crumbled it and layered it into the bottoms of the jars and blind baked them first - I decided to do a streusel topping for the white section of the patriotic colors.

Each jar contained a layer of big, juicy blueberries, a layer of jewel-toned sliced red plums and a topping of buttery cinnamon-y oatmeal streusel crunchy goodness. They were popped into the oven on a rimmed cookie sheet to corral the jars for ease in getting them into and out of the oven...and to catch any bubble-overs that might mess the oven otherwise. The technique worked beautifully!

Although I lost my distinct definition of red and blue layers - they kind of melded into blue only, the results were just what I'd hoped. The piled-high fruit that went into the oven cooked down leaving space at the top of the jar for a good scoop of ice cream. Jar pies ala mode! Perfect.

Since I'd made four pies for the two of us, I simply screwed the tops and lids onto the cooled extras to store in the fridge for the next night (or maybe a midnight craving). I can't wait to experiment some more. I'm thinking individual cheesecakes or pumpkin pies or even going the savory route with chicken or turkey pot pies or shepherds pies. And wouldn't one of the savory pies travel to work for lunch with ease? Screw on lids are ideal for this!

Any short, squat, small Mason-type or Ball-type canning jar will work. Be sure to check each jar for cracks or chips first to prevent breakage in the oven. Hmmm...I just realized these make for an automatic portion control, too...well, unless more than one can't be resisted. Not that I'd know anything about that. Really!

Red Plum and Blueberry Streusel Cutie Pies

• 2 cups blueberries
• 3 plums, red or purple, stones removed & sliced
• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oats, gluten-free to make these GF, regular oats if gluten isn't an issue
• 1/3 cup flour, again, gluten-free to make these GF, regular all-purpose flour if gluten isn't an issue
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
In 4 clean, short, wide Mason or Ball-type canning jars, layer 1/2 cup of blueberries, then 1/4 of the plum slices and press down gently, but firmly. Sprinkle each fruit filled jar with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Set aside.

 


To make streusel: In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the brown sugar, oats, flour, butter and cinnamon together until all is incorporated and crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel evenly on the tops of the fruit filled jars.
 
Place the jars on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch any spills and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.
 
To serve, top with scoops of ice cream right in the jar!

Black Rice Blueberry & Jalapeno Salad

Now that grilling season is here, an arsenal of side salad recipes is something we all need. Once we've had potato salad a dozen different ways or pasta salad until we never want to see another dried noodle as long as we live, what's left? Well, there's this little number for starters.

Like a little black dress, this is one is suitable for all events. Dress it up fancy or or dress it down casual - the finest filet or  the most basic burger - Black Rice Blueberry & Jalapeno Salad is just right for any occasion. This lovely little basic black salad might have just a little more elegance than potato salad. Maybe it has just a little more pizzazz.

With blueberries in season and a BIG bag of black rice in my pantry (thank you Costco!), it only seemed natural to devise a way to use them together. Sweet blueberries balanced against tart fresh lime and vinegar and a contrast of chewy, toothsome rice and crisp green onions and red slivers of jalapenos gave nice textural interest as well as some pretty amazing flavor.

The simple, basic black salad is always in good taste...and it tastes good!

Black Rice Blueberry & Jalapeno Salad

• 2 cups cold, cooked black rice - don't substitute white rice (cold, cooked brown rice would work just fine - just wouldn't be nearly as dramatic!)
• 6 green onions, root end removed and sliced thinly well into the green
• 1 red jalapeno - or green if you can't find a red one, stem and seeds removed, sliced very thinly
• 1 cup blueberries, washed and dried
• 1 t. Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• the juice of 1 lime
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 3 T. olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently, but well. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Blueberry Basil Gin Schpritz

Buster Poindexter wants to know, “Are you feelin’ hot hot hot?!”  Well, are you?  If you’re not, my friend, you are in the minority this summer. 

Driving home from work last night, weaving my way through creeping traffic amidst the ripples of heat rising from the pavement, I kept thinking, “What could possibly help relieve this suffocatingly steamy and sultry workday?”  Only one answer kept echoing through my parched brain….GIN!  Classic. 

So upon trudging up the stairs and slipping off my shoes, I rifled through the bar until I found that beautiful blue bottle of Bluecoat gin.  Ahhhhh.  Then to the fridge to ferret out the limes…double ahhhhhh.  The produce drawer held some gorgeous in-season blueberries and a squeeze bottle of basil simple syrup beckoned from the shelf.  I had the makings of one astonishingly refreshing summer cocktail!  In a flash it was mixed, shaken, strained and poured into my waiting glass.    
 

I'd like to say I settled back into the azure blue Adirondack chair by the gurgling pond while I sipped my cooling cocktail slowly.  Nah....too damned hot for that.  I took the pic then hied it immediately up to the  living room to put my feet up and chill in cool, air conditioned comfort. I ain't no fool!  

Mix one up yourself tonight.  Your very own parched brain will thank you for it's very own ahhhhhh moment. 

Blueberry Basil Gin Schpritz

Serves 1

• 2 ounces gin - whatever YOUR favorite is!
• 3 ounces basil simple syrup (see my Grilled Peach Vodka Basil Cocktail for this recipe)
• 1/2 lime , juiced
• 12 blueberries
• ice
• club soda or tonic

In the glass of a cocktail shaker, muddle lime juice and blueberries; add simple syrup and gin.  Add ice 3/4 of the way up the tin of the shaker and pour the liquid over.  Cap tightly and shake until the tin is frosted over.  Strain into a collins glass, add ice and add just a touch of soda.  Garnish with a slice of lime and a few blueberries.