Maximus oven-dried and smoked filet mignon

• 1 pork tenderloin of 1 kg
• 420 g coarse salt
• 10 g pink peppercorns
• 5 g rosemary
• 5 g thyme
• 5 g cumin
• A little walnut oil
• 5 L beech wood chips
• 1 ham net

Day 1 — Salting

1. Wash your hands thoroughly (or wear gloves) before handling the raw meat.
2. Rub the pork tenderloin thoroughly with all of the salt, working it well into every pore.
3. Leave at 15°C maximum for exactly 24 hours. Do not exceed this time, to avoid an over-salty cured meat.

Day 2 — Desalting

1. Brush off most of the salt by hand, then rinse the tenderloin under cold water.
2. Check that no grains of salt remain, then wipe off excess water with your hand.
3. Keep the meat in a cool place for 24 hours, hung from a hook or laid on a rack so that air circulates well.

Day 3 — Seasoning and smoking

1. Brush the meat with walnut oil so the spices stick.
2. Scatter over the pink peppercorns and rub them into the meat. Then add the herbs and rub to distribute them evenly.
3. Arrange the beech wood chips on one side of the Maximus and light them.
4. Place the pork tenderloin on a rack on the opposite side from the chips. Put out the flame and let the chips smoulder slowly.
5. Position the shield supplied with the oven along the chips to stop the meat from heating up.
6. Close the oven and smoke for 3 to 3.5 hours. Then open the chimney to let the smoke escape.
7. Take out the tenderloin, wrap it immediately in a clean ham net and keep it somewhere cool.

After 3 weeks — Tasting

1. Take the tenderloin out of the ham net, cut it into thin slices and enjoy with friends, with an ice-cold beer!