Recipe Thieves and Pork Loin

**********CONTENT WARNING**********

There may be a bit of bad language in this one.  I had a whole rant about someone stealing my recipes and calling them their own all ready but my good friend Joelle (Check out her Blog as well.  She's got some good stuff over there) asked the most pertinent question that could have been asked:  What will a Rant accomplish?

She's absolutely right and it turns out that, in the heat of my anger, I came up with one Hell of a Pork Loin that was not only a hit, but was so outrageously, insanely good that I realized that instead of throwing foul words around, I should revel in what became of it.  Don't get me wrong, I like throwing foul words around and I am damn good at it, but in this case I am going to get it off my chest and then share what I came up with.  To the person that stole my recipe and called it their own:  You're a No Talent Ass-Clown.  There, I did it. 

So anyway, I had my niece and her girlfriend over for dinner and a few cocktails and resting in the fridge was a nice Pork Loin that I had left over from some chops I did earlier in the week.  Wondering what to do with it, Gina says "Wrap it in Bacon".  Ok, done.....now what to do.....?

Bourbon Bacon Loin Bomb

Soak a bunch of wood chips/chunks for about 2 hours, just to be ready.

2-4 lb. Pork Loin

6-7 whole strips of Bacon

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste

Season the loin to taste, wrap from end to end with bacon slices, and season again.  Wrap in several layers of foil and slow roast next to the coals (not over them) for about 4 hours.  The loin will be cooked at this point but it is no where near done.  Unwrap the loin, drain and save the drippings, apply the wet chips, and give the loin a heavy smoke for about an hour.  It will begin to dry the outside a little but that's going to get the bacon a bit crispy before the final step.

Bourbon Glaze
I used a store bourbon glaze and it wasn't half bad...except a bit spicy for the family.  I figured it couldn't be that hard to recreate and this is what I came up with.

1/2 pint Quality bourbon
1 cup Organic cane sugar
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
3 tbsp Organic butter, hold 2 tbsp in reserve
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the shallot and garlic in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat until the edges just start to brown then add pecans to warm them up and get some of the flavors out.  Just about 30 seconds.

Add the bourbon and sugar and reduce to about 1/3 or you develop a thin syrup.  Turn off the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes and whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp butter.  It's going to give the sauce a nice sheen and is the hammer on the flavor nail.  Puree the pecans into the sauce using either a standard blender or an immersion blender.  Strain out any large pieces with a sieve.

Just when the bacon is staring to crisp on the loin, baste with generous amounts of the glaze about 4 times over a half hour.  You may want to add some charcoal to get the heat up before you start.  Remove from heat and let it stand for about 15 minutes before you cut into it.  If you have some glaze left, you can add the drippings you held back to it, simmer for about ten minutes, and use as a finishing sauce.

This is one of those things that just happened.  I was seriously uptight over someone swiping my recipes and with a nudge from The Mrs., I put something on the table that was one of a kind, over the top, and a carnivores dream.  Of course, the therapy wasn't quite complete until we shared cocktails for family and friends before, during, and after the loin...well after the loin.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob