🍂🌻 Chili Champions & Backyard Cooks 🌻🍂🍁 Chuckwagon Fall Recipe of the Day — Friday, September 11, 2026🥓🍠 Maple Bacon Pork Tenderloin with Cinnamon-Apple Sweet Potato Hash 🍎🍁

🥓🍠 Maple Bacon Pork Tenderloin with Cinnamon-Apple Sweet Potato Hash 🍎🍁

Good morning, folks! 🤠🍂

Happy Friday! Today we're filling the kitchen with some wonderful fall aromas. We're taking a juicy garlic-and-herb pork tenderloin, brushing it with a savory maple-Dijon glaze, and finishing it with crispy bacon.

Alongside it, we're making a colorful sweet potato, apple, onion, and pecan hash that gives us just enough sweetness to balance that savory pork.

Best of all, this beautiful fall dinner can be on the table in about an hour! ❤️

🥩 Maple Bacon Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

• 2 pork tenderloins, about 1–1¼ lbs each

• 6 slices bacon, chopped

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• ½ teaspoon rubbed sage

• ½ teaspoon onion powder

• Salt and black pepper to taste

🍁 Maple-Dijon Glaze

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tablespoon melted butter

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

🍠 Cinnamon-Apple Sweet Potato Hash

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

• 2 crisp apples, diced

• 1 medium sweet onion, diced

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

• Salt and black pepper

• ½ cup chopped pecans, optional

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, optional

🔥 Let's Get Cooking!

1️⃣ Start that bacon. Cook the bacon in a large oven-safe skillet until crisp. Remove and set aside, leaving a little bacon drippings in the skillet.

2️⃣ Season the pork. Pat the tenderloins dry and rub them with olive oil, garlic, paprika, thyme, sage, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

3️⃣ Give them a good sear! Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and brown the tenderloins for about 2 minutes per side.

4️⃣ Make the glaze. Whisk together the maple syrup, Dijon, vinegar, Worcestershire, butter, garlic, and smoked paprika.

Brush the pork generously with the glaze.

5️⃣ Into the oven! Roast at 400°F for approximately 15–20 minutes, brushing with more glaze halfway through, until the thickest part of the pork reaches 145°F.

Remove it from the oven and let it rest for at least 3 minutes before slicing.

Sprinkle that crispy bacon over the sliced pork. 🥓

🍎 Make the Harvest Hash

While the pork is roasting, heat butter and olive oil in another skillet.

Add the sweet potatoes and onions and cook over medium heat for about 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the potatoes are nearly tender, add the apples, cinnamon, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.

Cook another 5–7 minutes until the apples are tender but still hold their shape.

Finish with toasted pecans and a small drizzle of maple syrup if you'd like.

🏆 MawMaw's Chuckwagon Secret

Don't overcook that pork!

Pork tenderloin is naturally lean, so it can dry out when cooked too long. Use a meat thermometer and remove it when the center reaches 145°F, then give it time to rest.

And remember—pork tenderloin and pork loin aren't the same cut. Make sure you're buying tenderloin for today's recipe.

🍽️ Serve It Up With

🫘 Southern green beans with bacon🌽 Skillet butter corn🥖 Warm yeast rolls with apple butter🥗 Cranberry-pecan harvest salad🍎 Sweet tea or cold apple cider

🍂 And for dessert?

🍎🥧 Caramel Apple Pecan Dump Cake

Warm cinnamon apples, buttery cake topping, toasted pecans, caramel sauce, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Oh my goodness! That's Friday night dessert! 😋

💜 Friday Chuckwagon Encouragement

We made it to Friday! ❤️

Sometimes when we reach the end of another week, it's easy to focus on everything that didn't get finished.

But today, think about what did happen.

You made it through another week.You had another opportunity to love somebody.You had another chance to encourage someone.And God was faithful through every moment—even the ones that didn't go according to plan.

Tonight, gather around the table, enjoy something good to eat, and thank God for bringing you through another week.

There is always something to be grateful for. 🍂

📖 Scripture for Today

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

— Psalm 136:1 (KJV)

🍁 Friday Table Question

Which fall side dish would YOU put beside this pork tenderloin?

🍠 Sweet potato hash🥔 Garlic mashed potatoes🍎 Fried apples🌽 Skillet corn🫘 Green beans🥣 Cornbread dressing

👇 Tell us in the comments! And don't forget to share your recipes, cook-off favorites, and pictures of what's cooking at your house. We love seeing what everybody is making!

🍂🤠 Happy Friday, Friends!

May your weekend begin with good food, grateful hearts, plenty of laughter, and people you love gathered around the table.

Faith ⭐ Family ⭐ Friends ⭐ Food ⭐ Memories ❤️🍁🌻