Fruit of the Loin

If you know me, you are probably aware of my love for all things pork. It is an intoxicating food. My favorite cuts are the long cooking ones like spare ribs, shoulder, pork belly...  Any true pork lover also loves the other cuts, and celebrates the whole animal, from accessible pork chops to adventurous head cheese. 

Just one thing I have to say when pork is involved.

Gotta make dry rubs!

I always rub my pork down with a nice dry rub; sugar, salt, whatever feels clever.
I wanted to get some pork and rub it down. So I got myself a tenderloin.

This particular tenderloin got a healthy dose of dried toasted chilies and raw sugar.

The chili aspect was an almost even mix of ancho and guajillo, with a generous amount of chili arbol, and some small deep red torpedo-shaped Japanese hot peppers.  The rest was salt, sugar and magic.

What else could I fry these lovely little nuggets in besides the greatest fat in the world; bacon fat.

The chilies in the rub lent a wonderful orange hue to the fat. I also fried some garlic next to these delicious little pork nugs. The combination was awesome. Soft, fried garlic is a great vegetable note that holds serious flavor and doesn't overwhelm with a sharp bite.

Pork in the pan, ladies and gentlemen.

Some quick sauteed onions and a piece of bread, and this meal is complete. Check out the cross section on this tenderloin. It had a wonderful crust and a juicy, soft inside. The chilies added a really nice long burn, that was not as intense as eating a fresh hot pepper, but with a slow burn that really made you salivate. That garlic up front shows how much color and flavor the chilies lent all the ingredients.

It was delicious and easy.
It was fun and porky.

Leftovers will certainly be appreciated.