This recipe is a quicker version of a smoked ham. The pork tenderloin sits in the brine for 24 hours before you cold smoke it. If you have a hot smoker, cook the pork tenderloin in that.
Components
Smoked pork tenderloin
Spinach
Mustard sauce
Rice
Ingredients 4 servings
800 g (28.22 oz) pork tenderloin
45 g (1.59 oz) salt
45 g (1.59 oz) sugar
500 ml (16.91 fl oz) water
5 g (0.18 oz) Alder wood chips
5 g (0.18 oz) yellow mustard powder
20 g (0.71 oz) bread crumbs
30 g (1.06 oz) egg white
Spinach
400 g (14.11 oz) spinach
20 g (0.71 oz) butter
Salt to taste
Mustard sauce
10 g (0.35 oz) mustard powder
200 g (7.05 oz) creme fraiche
Salt to taste
instructions
Smoked pork tenderloin
Dissolve the salt and sugar in the cold water.
Add the pork tenderloin to the brine and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Preheat an oven to 150° C (302 degrees Fahrenheit).
Pat dry the tenderloin and place it in a pot.
Load a smoking gun with the wood chips and fill the pot with smoke. Cover the pot with a lid and keep it tight for 5 minutes.
Transfer the smoked pork to a baking tin.
Roast the tenderloin for 20 minutes or until an inner temperature at 80° C (176 degrees Fahrenheit).
Preheat an oven to 220° C (428 degrees Fahrenheit).
Whip the egg white to stiff peaks and fold in the mustard powder. Smear it onto the pork
tenderloin and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.
Roast in the oven for 5 minutes.
Spinach
Rinse and drain the spinach.
Add the spinach, butter and some salt to a pan.
Fry the spinach on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Mustard sauce
Mix all of the Components and whip to a thick consistency.
Assembly
Rinse 200g (7.05 oz) rice in cold water and bring to a boil over medium heat in 400g (14.11 oz) water. When the water is boiling, turn down the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat. Let the rice sit for another 10 minutes with the lid on.
Place a ring mold onto the serving plate and add rice to it. Press the rice down.
Add spinach on top of the rice.
Carefully unmold the rice and spinach.
Cut the smoked pork tenderloin into 5 mm slices and place them in a fan shape on top of the
spinach.
Pipe the mustard sauce around the rice.
Fun facts about ham, Kassler and smoked pork tenderloin
This recipe is a quicker version of a smoked ham since it is a lot smaller in size. A ham is traditionally served at Christmas and is called “julskinka” in Swedish.
It could be served hot on the Christmas buffé (Julbord) along with Janssons gratin and other traditional dishes. The pork is also super delish on a sandwich with some cucumber slices.
The same flavor is also found in the “Kassler” which is made from pork loin. That is often served as this recipe with spinach and rice.
The pork tenderloin sits in the brine for 24 hours before you cold smoke it. For Kassler, make the brine slightly saltier. If you have a hot smoker, cook the pork tenderloin in that. If you hot smoke the pork, you get an intense smoky flavor. The Scandinavian flavor for smoked pork and fish is Alder tree smoke, but Hickory works well too.