Stuffed Pork Loin For The Holidays?

[Leonard]

I am thinking of making this for the holidays. Has anyone made it? It's from Paula Deen's Holiday 2008 magazine.

Stuffed Pork Loin (Photo at Bottom of Recipe)
Ingredients 1/4 cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 (12-ounce) package bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (5-pound) pork loin roast, trimmed

Instructions In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until tender. Stir in spinach; cook for 3 minutes. Add bacon, Parmesan, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese is melted; set aside.
Butterfly pork loin by making a lengthwise cut down bottom third of 1 flat side, cutting to within 1 inch of other side. From bottom of cut, slice horizontally to 1/2 inch from left side; repeat procedure on right side. Open pork loin, and flatten to 1/2 inch thickness, using a meat mallet. Trim uneven edges to make a clean rectangle.
Spread spinach mixture over loin, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Roll up pork, jelly-roll fashion, starting with long side. Tie at 2-inch intervals with heavy butcher’s twine.
Preheat oven to 475˚.
Place pork loin on a lightly greased rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325˚; cover, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion reaches 155˚. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Makes 8 - 10

[apple*tart]

Sounds good! I bet it would be great with baked apples as a side dish.

[Leonard]

Do you have a recipe to share for baked apples. Do you think the apples might clash with the cheese & spinach? Thanks!

[apple*tart]

Sure! This is for baked apple slices. You may want to try it out before serving it to company, you know, for science and all.

2 large apples, Jonagold or other firm, sweet-tart apple
¼ cup brown sugar or maple sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup apple juice or cider

Preheat oven to 350º.

Core, peel, and slice apples (around 16 slices per apple). Put the apple slices in a small/medium bowl.

In another small bowl, combine sugars, flour, and spices.

Melt the butter and combine with the apple juice or cider.

Toss the apple slices with the sugar mixture. Pour the butter over the apples and stir to for a syrupy sauce.

Transfer the apples to a shallow baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.

_____

This would serve 2-4 people. Scale up as needed. This is kind of a rustic dish; there are fancier recipes out there that keep the apples whole; the cores are removed and they are stuffed with brown sugar, butter, spices, etc.
I think the apples will be an excellent pair with the sharpness of the parmesan cheese, and I don't think it will clash with the spinach. If you haven't decided on a starch, there's a recipe for parmesan scalloped potatoes in CI's The Best Light Recipe that is delicious and would also go well with your pork roast.

[scudgal]

Wow - both dishes sound great. I might have to put this on my list of holiday dish possibilities.

[Leonard]

Thanks so much for the apple recipe. Sounds delicious. I need to invite you to dinner!

[Middydd]

Thanks for posting the stuffed pork loin recipe!! I'm making it next weekend.

[peachesncream]

I have wanted for years to make a stuffed pork loin, but I can't figure out how to make the cuts needed in the meat. The written descriptions don't make any sense to me!

Has anyone seen a website where this is demonstrated? Or can describe this in such a way that any idiot (me) can understand it?

[Canice]

Will the butcher do it for you?

Sounds/looks like a great dish for the holidays!

[Leonard]

To be honest, I don't understand the instructions either. I will ask the butcher to cut it for me. I am hoping you can post the scalloped potato recipe from CI??

[Marsha]

Cook's Illustrated has a great stuffed pork loin recipe and they show exactly how to open the loin up for stuffing and rolling it and tying it. Here's a link: /www.americastestkitchen.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=4519&iSeason=9

You have to register but it doesn't cost anything because this is from this season. It's called Grilled Pork Loin with Apple-Cranberry Filling on a Charcoal Grill (they also have instructions for a gas grill). It's smoked and it is wonderful.

Hope this helps!

[Middydd]

I've used this recipe "Spinach and Bacon-Stuffed Pork Loin with White Wine and Rosemary Cream Sauce" and it has a really good description of how to butterfly a roast for stuffing:

http://lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeContr...e&recipeID=701

[apple*tart]

Originally Posted by Leonard

Thanks so much for the apple recipe. Sounds delicious. I need to invite you to dinner!

Yum! Just tell me when and where.
Hope you like the apple recipe. I'm making it tonight, actually! Picked some jonagolds right off the tree last week.

[peachesncream]

Ask the butcher to do it – great idea! Thanks also for the recipes.

Here is a Southern Living recipe (from one of their Christmas books) that I want to try. It calls for cutting the roast once and opening it like a book – so the stuffing is in the middle of the roast. I like the idea of fruit stuffing, and SL’s recipes are usually reliable.

Fruit-Stuffed Pork Roast

3 lb. boneless pork loin roast
1 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1 cup chopped tart apple
2 Tablespoons dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Apple Brandy or apple juice

Heat oven to 350º.

Starting at narrow side of pork roast, cut a slit lengthwise almost to center of roast. (Roast will open like a book.) Mix remaining ingredients, except apple brandy. Stuff mixture into opening; close and secure with string.

Pour apple brandy into roasting pan; place stuffed roast in pan. Bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours, basting frequently with apple brandy, until meat thermometer inserted in center registers 160º. Serve pork with Apple Brandy Sauce.

Apple Brandy Sauce

1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup Apple Brandy or apple cider
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Mix all ingredients in small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute until sauce thickens slightly. Makes 1-1/4 cups sauce.

[SusanMac]

Making stuffed pork loin intimidated me at first, too. But it's really not difficult. You just have to be brave & jump in. It's an extremely impressive dish for company!

Does anyone else but me think it's funny to stuff a pork with bacon?!

[Middydd]

I'm thinking of making a stuffed, rolled pork loin for dinner tomorrow.

Do you think I could stuff it tonight, but cook tomorrow? Anybody tried this?

[margeslp]

Our local supermarket had a grand opening sale of pork tenderloins for $.97/lb. I was there everyday for my limit of 2 and still have a few in the freezer. I also got boneless pork loin roasts for $1/lb last week and stock up on these. There is no end to wonderful pork roast recipes. This is my favorite stuffed tenderloin:

Danish Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 lb. each
2 large apples, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
12 prunes, pitted
2 T butter
1/2 cup beef bouillon
1 cup heavy cream

Split tenderloins the long way, cutting 2/3 of way through.
Open flat and pound to an even thickness.
Place apples on meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Lay 6 prunes across the short end of each tenderloin and roll like a jelly roll.
Tie securely, then brown on all sides in butter.
Add bouillon and heavy cream.
Cover and bake at 375 for 1 hour.
Add water if necessary.
Remove meat to a hot platter, skim fat from sauce, scrape the pan so that none of the delicious brownings will be lost.
Whirl smooth in blender or press through a fine sieve.
Reheat and pour over meat.

The recipe was from our Gourmet Club in the 70s and the whole menu is still a favorite of mine.