Slow-roasted Stuffed Pork Loin: Maximum Flavor and Tenderness
We were thinking of ways to impress your guests during the holidays that don’t cost $250 of prime rib. And the answer was, naturally, stuffed pork loin. Pork loin is the same muscle as prime rib, but it’s from a pig. And the stuffing (which is easy) brings so much flavor to the party and is such a beautiful presentation that (almost) no one will miss the rib roast. The best part? You can usually get a whole loin for under $30. Let’s look at how you can make this dish in your own kitchen.
Stuffing the day before
If you have the time, we recommend stuffing the loin the day before you cook it. If you do, the stuffing flavors will have time to soak into the meat. And, from an aesthetic standpoint, it can be nice that the bacon in this particular filling will donate a little bit of curing salt to the meat, helping it keep a lovely light-pink hue even after cooking.
Chill the roast before you cook
We’re basically following our method for cooking prime rib in this post, which means we chill the loin in the freezer for about a half-hour before we cook it. This creates a thermal barrier in the meat so we can sear without overcooking the meat itself. Season the loin with salt and pepper, then put it on a tray in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Searing pork loin for flavor
We’ve made stuffed pork loin on this blog before, but in that case, we grill-roasted it, imparting the flavor of the grill into the loin. If you live in a climate where you can do that in the middle of winter, go for it! But if your grill is frozen shut (or you just want to cook inside), start with a sear to up the flavor.
Remove the loin from the freezer where it’s been chilling and cook it on a flat-top griddle or in a cast-iron pan that has been preheated to at least 400°F (204°C).
Cook your stuffed pork loin slowly
We cooked our loin at 225°F (107°C), which helped keep temperature gradients small inside the loin, and kept the meat parts from overcooking while the filling was coming up to temperature.
Use your RFX MEAT Wireless Thermometer to track the cook as you go. It has four sensors inside, making it easier to hit the thermal center of the meat. We set our high-temp alarm for 135°F (57°C), knowing there would be carryover cooking.
Slow-roasted Stuffed Pork Loin recipe
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork loin 3.5–5 pounds
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon
- 1 Tbsp fennel seed chopped coarsely
- 3 medium leeks white and light-green parts only, sliced and rinsed
- 1 lb crimini mushrooms chopped
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 C 1 stick butter
- 1 C breadcrumbs
- 1 C roasted pumpkin seeds, coarsely ground
- 1/2 C coarsely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 Granny Smith apples
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the filling
- Chop the bacon and cook it in a large pan over medium heat. You want the bacon to get nice and cooked and to render all of its fat.
- Add the chopped fennel seed and cook in the fat for 15–30 seconds, until quite fragrant and toasty smelling.
- Drain the leeks well and add them to the pan, sauteing until they are well wilted, and start browning around some of their edges.
- Add the butter to the pan and cook to melt it.
- Add the chopped mushrooms to the pan and stir, cooking until the mushrooms have cooked out a lot of their water and start to brown around the edges of the pan. Add the lemon zest.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool somewhat.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs, ground pumpkin seeds, and Parmesan cheese.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper accordingly.
Butterfly the pork and stuff it
- Lay the pork on the cutting board and make a cut along the length of the loin, 1/2″ above the board and parallel to it. Continue this cut through the loin until the knife is about 1/2″ from the opposite side of the loin.
- Open the loin like a book; there will be a thick side and a thin side.
- Repeat this action on the new thick side, unrolling the pork loin as you go.
- Repeat a third time, if you can.
- Salt and pepper the surface of the pork loin.
- Spoon the mushroom filling onto the surface of the loin. Spread it as needed to cover the loin by about 1/2". You may have extra filling.
- Lay the thin-sliced apples atop the mushroom filling. You may have extra apple slices.
- Roll the pork loin back up.
- Tie the loin with butcher twine, making a knot about every inch along the length.
- Season the exterior of the loin.
- Put the pork loin in the fridge overnight, covered.
Cook the roast
- Preheat your oven to 225°F (107°C). Season the exterior of the roast lighty with salt and pepper.
- Place the tied, seasoned roast in the freezer for 30 minutes. Insert RFX MEAT into the center of the roast, angling it in from the top so that the probe reaches its recommended immersion line.
- Set the high-temp alarm in your app for 135°F (57°C) and cook the roast.
- When the alarm sounds, verify the temperature with Thermapen ONE. If you don't see a temperature lower than 135°F (57°C), remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it up. If you find any lower temperatures, adjust the position of your meat probe and continue to cook until the true lowest temp in the meat has reached your pull temp.
- Slice the roast and serve.
