Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah
My family wasn’t a camping family. We tried it once when I was little, and I believe we lasted one whole night before we turned around and drove home, never to attempt it again.
Mr. Mike Ballard’s family, on the other hand, are tried-and-true campers. Their hometown church has been camping at Tennessee’s Fall Creek Falls State Park every Memorial Day weekend for more than 50 years. The group has only missed two years since 1964: once in 1995 when a tornado destroyed the campground and then in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And this means that I, too, am now a hardcore camper.
Four or five years into my own experience with Family Camp, Mike and I decided that part of what we love about camping is cooking over an open fire. So despite the fact that every meal is provided as part of the group experience, we began bringing a meal or two of our own to cook outside our own cabin.
One of our enduring favorites is a Cuban-style pork tenderloin. The marinade and pork are stored together in a mason jar, which can even be frozen before it’s placed in the cooler to keep it fresh longer.
The first time we cooked it, the fire was burning very hot, and the outside charred quickly. While that’s desirable for this particular recipe, we still needed to make sure the pork was cooked all the way through, which meant more time over the fire. My sister-in-law — also named Angela Ballard, which keeps things very simple and confusing at the same time — suggested we wrap the tenderloin in foil for the remainder of the cooking. This resulted in an incredibly juicy, tender piece of meat, and we’ve used that method ever since.
We’ve expanded our campfire cooking repertoire quite a bit to include recipes for steak, shrimp, chicken, and more, but this pork tenderloin is our number-one grilling go-to. Pair it with smoked corn on the cob and some rice (steamed at home, then reheated briefly in foil over the fire) or Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, and you’ve got an amazing fireside dinner that will please even the pickiest campers.
This week’s subscriber exclusives: Our technique for Smoked Corn on the Cob happened by accident. But once it happened, we never looked back. And over the years, it’s been one of our most-requested cookout contributions.
I’ll be surprised if you have any pork tenderloin left, but if you do, it makes terrific Flame-Grilled Quesadillas. You can also use leftover steak, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables to create a wonderful second-day snack that’s great to take hiking.
Subscribers to Around the World in 80 Plates have exclusive access to these additional campfire favorites.
Campfire Pork in a Jar
Mix the marinade for this recipe directly in the jar, then add the tenderloin and store it in the refrigerator until it’s time to load the cooler. If you use a plastic canning lid, then you can even freeze it, leaving a little room at the top of the jar for it to expand as it freezes. This will keep it fresher longer in the cooler, and it will help keep the rest of your food colder longer, too.
A quart-sized jar works perfectly for a single tenderloin, many of which are sold two to a package at the grocery. You can easily double the recipe to feed a bigger crowd.
1–1/2 to 2 pound pork tenderloin
1 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup fresh mint, chopped
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup minced garlic
1/3 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
In a quart-sized jar, mix the olive oil, cilantro, mint, orange juice, garlic, lime juice, oregano, cumin, orange zest, salt, and pepper. Close the jar with the lid and shake vigorously to combine. Add the pork tenderloin and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
Remove the tenderloin from the jar, reserving the remaining marinade. Over an open flame or grill preheated to high, cook the tenderloin until each side has a moderate amount of char. Remove the tenderloin from the heat and wrap it tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Return the tenderloin to the flame, cooking until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145°F as measured by a meat thermometer. Remove the tenderloin from the heat and leave it wrapped tightly in foil for 10 minutes to allow the pork to rest before slicing.
As the pork is cooking, bring the remaining marinade to a hard boil in a small saucepan, cooking for a minimum of five minutes. Serve on the side as a sauce with the pork. Makes four servings.
For $5 a month, you can get an additional weekly issue of Around the World in 80 Plates that includes bonus recipes not available to the public.
This week’s subscriber exclusives:
- Smoked Corn on the Cob: Our technique happened by accident. But once it happened, we never looked back. And over the years, it’s been one of our most-requested cookout contributions.
- Flame-Grilled Quesadillas: I’ll be surprised if you have any pork tenderloin left, but if you do, it makes terrific grilled quesadillas. You can also use leftover steak, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables to create a wonderful second-day snack that’s great to take hiking.
