Name: Grilled Cotija-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexican-American
Ingredients: 1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin; 3 tablespoons dijon mustard; 1 cup Cotija cheese, (crumbled); 1/4 cup chopped chives; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 9 slices thick-cut bacon

Jump to Recipe

It’s summer and you know what that means: grilling season is awwn!

TABLE OF CONTENTS show

This grilled Cotija Stuffed Pork Tenderloin wrapped in bacon and brushed with mustard is the most surefire way to impress your guests this grilling season. #porktenderloin #grilledporktenderloin #stuffedporktenderloin #baconwrappedpork

But just because the food is cooked over an open flame doesn’t mean it has to be something a caveman would recognize. Let’s take a break from the gargantuan steaks for a minute and make something a little fancier, something, I don’t know… stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon?

Perfect Grilled Pork Tenderloin

This Cotija-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin looks complicated but is actually pretty simple to pull-off. I used Cotija cheese to add a briny bite. The nice thing about Cotija is that it hold its shape to create clean, beautiful slices after the pork has been cooked, not to mention the loads of fresh, creamy flavor.

How to Stuff a Pork Tenderloin

The cheeses are combined with snipped fresh chives and some ground black pepper then you place the stuffing right down the middle of a butterflied-and-pounded-flat pork tenderloin (you can watch how to do that here).

How to Wrap a Pork Tenderloin in Bacon

The whole thing gets rolled up and then wrapped in bacon, which gives it a smoky flavor and ups the wow-appeal. To make it a bit easier to wrap the bacon around give each piece a little tug to stretch it out, but not hard enough to rip it.

Then secure the bacon with a few pieces of kitchen twine and you’re ready to grill.

This is one of those recipes that you will make again and again. It is impressive and simple— a double whammy in the world of home cooking. Plus once you’ve got this one down you could repeat with a whole host of stuffings. Any number of cheeses would be wonderful here: Queso Blanco, goat cheese, or even Manchego cheese would be good as well as any number of fresh herbs or spices.

This recipe is sure to get you through many a barbecue or patio party this summer. Have a fantastic weekend everybody!

Some of my other grilling favorites include:

Grilled Cotija-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

This grilled Cotija Stuffed Pork Tenderloin wrapped in bacon and brushed with mustard is the most surefire way to impress your guests this grilling season.

Ingredients

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 cup Cotija cheese, (crumbled)
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
9 slices thick-cut bacon

Instructions

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat
While grill is heating, place the tenderloin on a cutting board vertically in front of you. Make a vertical cut (the long way) from top to bottom of the tenderloin, cutting a little more than halfway through, making sure to not cut all the way through the tenderloin.
Open tenderloin up like a book and press down on each side with the palm of your hand to flatten. Cover tenderloin with a piece of plastic wrap then using a meat mallet, wine bottle, or rolling pin, pound tenderloin until it is about ½-inch thick all over. Brush dijon mustard in an even layer over the tenderloin.
In a medium bowl, combine cheese, chives, salt, and pepper. Place cheese mixture down the middle of the tenderloin, then lift one side of the tenderloin over to cover the cheese. Continue rolling the tenderloin until it is completely rolled up.
Gently stretch out each piece of bacon to make it a bit longer, without breaking it. Wrap each slice of bacon around the tenderloin until covered, overlapping the slices a little bit. Cut about 8 pieces of kitchen twine about 6-inches long each. Slide each piece underneath the tenderloin at 1-inch intervals; tie each piece around the tenderloin to secure.
Grill tenderloin, covered, turning with tongs every 5 minutes or so until the internal temperature is at 140°F, about 20-30 minutes. Let rest about 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 313Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 1348mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 21g

One last thing…

What do you think? I want to know! Leave me a comment and snap a photo for Instagram! Tag @holajalapeno so I can see your beautiful creation! Your feedback is super important to me.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

Grilled Cotija-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Bacon