Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

This recipe came to me via a woman I met right after moving to Tennessee. While I lost touch with this woman years ago, I still enjoy making her delicious Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin.

The first step is to make the marinade. Simply combine the following ingredients in a measuring cup and set it aside while you deal with the pork loin.

Marinade

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs. finely grated onion (I use my microplane zester)
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
a pinch of cayenne pepper

I selected a relatively small pork loin, probably about 2 pounds, since I knew the fellows and I would be the only ones eating. Feel free to use whatever size loin you want. You Make sure you remove any fat from the loin before proceeding to the next step.

Now for the fun part... Wrap your loin with slices of bacon making sure to secure the ends with a few toothpicks. It doesn't have to be perfect. You just want to make sure the entire loin is wrapped with bacon. As a side note, I like to use thick-cut bacon but whatever you have on hand will work just fine.

Once the entire loin is wrapped in bacon, gently place it in a ziplock bag. Be careful not to dislodge the bacon. Pour the marinade over the top, zip the bag shut and squish it around to make sure the meat is coated.

Allow the pork to marinate at least six hour, although overnight is best. I like to drop the bag inside a plastic container in case the bag decides to spring a leak.

Place the pork in a roasting pan and remove the toothpicks being careful not to dishevel the bacon. Bake the pork loin at 400 degrees for approximately 45-50 minutes. You want the internal temperature to be between 135-140 degrees. If you are cooking a larger loin, you will have to increase the cooking time accordingly.

In the original recipe that I was given, the woman suggested dumping all of the marinade into the pan as well. In my experience, most of the marinade either evaporates or becomes burned on the bottom of the pan. I suggest that you either heat the remaining marinade in a small pot on the stove or discard it all together.