Turnips 2 Tangerines: Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin Kabobs

On the Menu Today~

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin Kabobs

Happy Father's Day~
What Dad doesn't like to grill on Dad's day!
Instead of the usual burgers, brats and steak,
why not make Dad some shish kabobs to grill...or
better yet, try these tasty Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin Kabobs,
and give Dad the day off.

Oven Roasted Pork
Tenderloin Kabobs

Kebab; Kabob [kuh-BOB]
Also called: shish kebab and shashlik.
Definition: Small chunks of meat, fish or shellfish,
that are marinated before being threaded on a skewer and
then usually grilled over coals.
Pieces of vegetables can also be threaded with the meat on the skewer.
If using wooden skewers, soak them first in water, wine, beer or fruit juice,
for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
This will prevent the wooden skewers from burning and
at the same time, adding flavor to your kabobs.
(if the skewers were soaked in wine, beer, or fruit juice etc first.)

This recipe is a great way to use marinated pork tenderloin,
that can be found in the meat department of all supermarkets.
If you can't find marinaded pork tenderloin or
you simply want to make your own marinade and
marinade a regular or plain pork tenderloin, this recipe
is extremely versatile and of course delicious.
Pork tenderloin is not only a very tender cut of meat,
it's very flavorful, can be used in many different recipes and
always turns out, no matter what method you use to cook it.

If you have the time, you can certainly make your own marinade or
you can buy one of the many, many varieties of delicious marinades,
that are on the grocery store shelves....
Have you ever stood and counted all of the different kinds of marinades,
grilling sauces and barbecue sauces that are available??
I have, and let me tell you, there are lots and lots!

For this recipe I went with a
Door County Cherry Pork Tenderloin from StoneRidge,
which is by far my absolute favorite.
I started buying Door County Cherry Pork Tenderloin years ago,
when we lived near Green Bay WI.
We purchased Door County Cherry Pork Tenderloin,
behind the meat counter at a fantastic store called: Festival Foods.
When we moved 'up north', we no longer lived near Festival Foods,
so it seemed our Door County Cherry Pork Tenderloin days were over.....
*Sigh*

But then one day, while shopping at the local Piggly Wiggly,
right there in the meat department, out of the corner of my eye,
I spotted Stoneridge Door County Cherry Pork Tenderloin.
Needless to say I was thrilled and
I started filling my cart with pork tenderloin.

Most Piggly Wiggly stores, plus many other grocery stores,
such as Trigs and local area "markets" here in northern Wisconsin,
carry StoneRidge products. (Stoneridge Summer Sausage is delish)
Besides Door County Cherry Pork Tenderloin we have tried;
Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin and Garlic & Herb Pork Tenderloin.
Both are equally delicious as the Door County Cherry variety and
either one will work equally great in this recipe.
Another brand of marinated pork tenderloin that I have seen in stores is Hormel.
I have also used Hormel marinated pork tenderloin in kabob recipes with great results.

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin features a product I recently discovered,
Icelandic Smoked Sea Salt by Salt Traders.
I learned about Nordur Sea Salt through Hubba and
they were kind enough to send me free samples of;
Icelandic Smoked Sea Salt, Icelandic Blueberry Sea Salt,
Icelandic Rhubarb Sea Salt and Icelandic Licorice Sea Salt.
Icelandic Smoked Sea Salt added a wonderful smokey flavor to the kabobs.
Discover the wonderful flavors of Icelandic Sea Salt.
Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming recipes using Icelandic Sea Salt,
here on Turnips 2 Tangerines.

There are so many reasons why I like making shish kabobs;
1.You can change up the meat or fish and use your family's favorite vegetables.
2. Fruit is also a tasty option.....pineapple, peaches and plums all work well.
3. Fresh herbs can be used; mint with fruit, dill with fish, sage with poultry....
4. Kabobs are a great vegetarian option.

So get nuts....Make up some kabobs....Anyway you like...

For this recipe, we used Organic Aged Balsamic Vinaigrette from Aldi,
to baste the kabobs while they were baking.
A wonderful vinaigrette, perfect for this recipe.
You can easily make your own balsamic vinaigrette or
use your favorite brand of vinaigrette.

Pork Tenderloin Kabobs

Yield: 10 skewers
Ingredients

10 wooden skewers
1 1/2 pounds marinated pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/4 inch cubes
1 (10 oz) package grape or cherry tomatoes
1 (16 oz) package whole mushrooms
1 (16 oz) package Brussels sprouts
1 (16 oz) package assorted mini peppers, cut in half
1 large sweet onion, cut into wedges
1 to 2 pounds mini baby potatoes
10 slices bacon
smoked sea salt* and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 cup aged balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 cup white wine. optional

Cooking Directions

Cooking Directions
Preheat oven to 400º
Soak 12 wooden skewers in water overnight.
Alternate the assorted veggies with meat on the skewers.
Wrap 2 strips of bacon around 5 skewers. (five wrapped in bacon, 5 without bacon)
Alternate bacon wrapped skewers and unwrapped skewers in two 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. Place the skewers in the oven on the center rack.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check vegetables to see if they are tender.
Remove baking dishes from oven. Carefully spoon aged balsamic vinaigrette over skewers.
Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer.
Remove baking dishes from oven, transfer kabobs to serving plate. Sprinkle the kabobs with smoked sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste.
Optional: stir drippings in baking dishes. Add 1/4 cup of room temperature white wine to drippings stirring constantly, while scraping up any bits left in pans. Spoon drippings over kabobs and serve.
Cooking times will vary depending on thickness of meat and vegetables used.