Pepper-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

I got a deer this week. Wednesday afternoon, two hours before dark, a young buck came through the creek bottom moving fast like something had pushed him from the north. He stopped at about sixty yards and I made a clean shot. First one since Danny died. First one alone.

The drag back to the truck took about forty minutes. In previous years Danny would have been on the other side of the deer pulling, and we'd have stopped twice to catch our breath and argued good-naturedly about whose fault the steep angle was. This time I did it alone, stopping when I needed to, not hurrying. The cold had set in good by then and the sky was going orange and purple over the ridge. It was beautiful in an uncomfortable way.

I processed the deer in my garage the way he taught me. All the steps in order. He'd been over it with me probably thirty times over the years, correcting my knife angle, explaining which cuts to prioritize, showing me how to handle the offal properly. The knowledge is in my hands now. That's where he put it and that's where it stays.

Caleb came over when I was nearly done and helped me wrap the cuts. We didn't talk much. He brought a six-pack and we stood in the garage in the cold with the radio on low and worked through the last of it. When we finished he said Danny would have done something complicated with the backstrap. I said I know. I said I'm going to do it too.

That night I seared the backstrap in a cast iron pan with butter, garlic, and the last of the season's fresh thyme. Simple. Clean. Exactly right. I ate it alone at the kitchen table and it tasted like every hunting season I'd ever had, and like the first one without him, both at once.

I don’t have a venison backstrap recipe to share — that cut felt too personal to publish, at least right now — but this pepper-stuffed pork tenderloin is the closest I can get you to what I cooked that night: a lean, tender cut of meat, seared in a hot pan with butter and garlic, done simply and without fuss. If you’ve got a backstrap in the freezer, the approach translates. If you’ve just got a tenderloin from the grocery store, that works too. Either way, cook it like it matters. Because it does.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Kitchen twine, for tying

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels and set it on a cutting board.
Butterfly the tenderloin. Using a sharp knife, slice the tenderloin lengthwise almost all the way through, then open it flat like a book. Cover with plastic wrap and pound gently to an even 1/2-inch thickness.
Season and fill. Rub the inside surface with half the garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Lay the pepper strips lengthwise across the center of the meat, alternating red and green.
Roll and tie. Roll the tenderloin tightly around the peppers and tie with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals to hold its shape. Season the outside with paprika and remaining salt and pepper.
Sear in cast iron. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and let it get hot. Place the rolled tenderloin in the pan and sear on all sides until a deep brown crust forms, about 2–3 minutes per side. Add the butter and remaining garlic to the pan, tilting and spooning the butter over the meat as it foams.
Finish in the oven. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until an internal thermometer reads 145°F, about 18–22 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for 5 minutes before removing the twine and slicing.
Slice and serve. Cut into 1-inch rounds. Spoon any pan drippings over the top. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pepper-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin — Simple and Clean, Exactly Right