It was a beautiful spring day and the redbud was in full
bloom. The Egg was lonely and desired companionship.
I was wanting to try something new with the Egg.
She can be a fickle mistress and she was become bored with
some of her more common companions so I decided to woe her with a whole beef
tenderloin. I picked up an attractive five pounder at the local meat market.
After I got it home I felt it was more meat than four people would probably
consume in one session so I cut a piece out and went for the configuration
you see here. My plan was to cook the smaller piece a little longer so that
the Ravnest could have her portion closer to the medium end. I knew I would
not be able to cook the main event past medium rare.
I had agonized over whether or not to stuff the loin with something
like lobster, spinach, crab or perhaps crawfish. The Ravnest is not a big
fan of the crustacean so we decided to go with a basic approach on this first
attempt with a semi-whole loin. I gave the loin a nice wash of olive oil,
caressed with a light dusting of brown sugar, kosher salt and pepper and then
ground on a good coating of coarse black pepper.
At the last minutes I concluded that something was missing.
I procured some bacon for the fridge that was of a higher quality than was
necessary for the job at hand. However it was all that I had so as you can
see I had a beef tenderloin wrapped in pork that was more ham than bacon.
I load the fire ring with lump and added a generous helping
of oak chunks as I desired a distinguishing smoky flavor with this meal which
I have found to be somewhat lacking in some earlier cooking session with the
Egg. I fired up the Egg and was going to wait until I had a solid 350°
but ended up tossing on the loin when the Egg was only about 200° but
smoking very nicely. I felt I did not want to waste that good smoke and that
the loin would absorb more if I put it on before reaching target temperature.
It was the correct decision as the finished loin was properly smoke flavored.
The temperature slowly rose to 350°. The loin cooked indirect
with a fire brick underneath the drip pan. I checked internal temperature
with my NuTemp probe at about 45 minutes and was surprised to see it read
130°. I had been planning to pull at 125° as I had been advised for
a medium rare. I pulled the larger piece and let the smaller ride for about
10 more minutes. I should have double checked with my simple probe thermometer
as I now believe the NuTemp reads a little high because the finished product
was quite medium rare.
The loin was brought and sliced and it was a perfect medium
rare. The smaller piece was closer to medium as you can see at the upper right
corner of the cutting board. It photographs a little rarer that it actually
was.
At first taste I concluded that the meal would not be a failure.
The delicate pink loin was kissed deeply with the seductive perfume of blue
smoky oak essence. It cut like butter and melted in the mouth in an orgasmic
flavor burst of bovine delight. My taste buds watered in anticipation of the
feast before me.
A 1998 Spirit Ridge Merlot was the perfect companion to the
hearty fare you see spread before you.
Visions of future variations of this classic cut dance through
my head. Stuffing of lobster, crab, oysters, shrimp and crawfish blended in
garlic butter, mushrooms, capers, fine sauces ....
