Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast – Perfect blend of sweet and savory, topped off with a delicious Honey Garlic Sauce. Yum

AS part of the culinary school journey students go through a sort of beginning butchery class that the CIA calls “Meat ID & Fabrication”. This has been a favorite so far, informative and eye opening, as a novice who mostly knows meat through the local supermarket.

Our Meat ID instructor, Chef K, shared his dislike for the center cut pork loin roasts, at least in comparison to the other cuts of pork available. He’s a smart guy and I listen to his instruction normally, but this recipe is in protest of the idea that loin roasts are less enjoyable. Maybe it will never be a favorite cut of meat, but perhaps this dish will change perspective on it’s possibilities.

Main ingredients

• 3-5 lb Pork Loin Roast (not tenderloin)
• 1 c Broth or Stock of choice

rub Ingredients

• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2-1 tsp Cayenne
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1/2-1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground Ginger

Rub and Pork Prep

1. Mix rub ingredients together well.
2. Create pocket in pork loin roast long side. One deep slice creating a pocket that has 3 sides self contained.
3. Generously apply rub to entire outside and inside of pocket.
4. *If cooking in oven; once the pork is stuffed/sealed, pan sear the outside to add some golden brown to the finished product. Not necessary if grilling.

Stuffing Ingredients

• Mild Oil (Canola or Grapeseed)
• 4-8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 Sweet Onion, long thin slices
• 1/4 bell peppers – red, yellow, orange: long thin slices
• 1 Jalapeño, half moons or long thin slices
• 6 Garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1/4-1/2 pineapple, thin sliced half moons

Stuffing Prep

1. On stovetop, sauté onions and peppers for a couple minutes – onions first if you prefer more carmelized version.
2. Add garlic for about 30 sec until aromatic and mixed well. Then remove from heat.
   *Don’t overcook this mix as it will cook down more in the oven, this pre-sauté gets the juices flowing and gets the onion carmelized.
3. Once the veggies have cooled enough to handle, prep loin for stuffing. (Rub should be done before stuffing while veggies cool.)
4. Spread a layer of cream cheese around the inside pocket created for the stuffing.
5. Put pineapple slices in pocket forming one layer. You should be able to arrange them to cover most of the pocket surface so each bite will have a thin layer of pineapple.
6. Stuff pocket (on top of the pineapple layer) with sautéed veggies. Careful not to overstuff as insides will burst out during bake. (If you have leftover veggie sauté, have them available for garnish or save for breakfast tacos later.)
7. Seal pocket with cooking twine or toothpicks like staples in a pinch.

Basting Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 c Honey (or Agave Nectar)
• 1/2 c Butter
• 6 Garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1/4″ Ginger, fresh grated or minced
• 3 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (or Soy Sauce)
• 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar (or ACV)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Roasting Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place pre-seared, stuffed and sealed pork in a roasting pan (with or without roasting rack is up to you). Apply 1/4 of basting sauce to pork and pour stock around the meat.
3. Bake, loosely covered with foil, for 20 min.
4. Baste, remove foil, bake for another 15 min.
5. Baste (likely using the rest), bake another 10-15 min. Until internal temp is at least 145 – remember meat keeps cooking after removed from the oven so keep that in mind when deciding to remove the roast.

Serving Sauce Ingredients

• Pan drippings
• All Purpose Flour
• 1-2 tsp Jalapeño hot sauce (if desired)
• 1 c water (use with discretion if pan liquid is low)

Serving Sauce Instructions

1. Using a stove bridge burner, make the sauce in the roasting pan to get all the good drippings after the bake in the sauce.
2. Remove pork front he pan to a proper cooling area for the meat to rest.
3. On medium low heat, bring the pan contents to a low simmer.
4. Add hot sauce as desired and 1 Tbsp of flour at a time. Whisking the ingredients as it simmers.
5. Add water or broth if liquid content is too low to make a proper sauce and enough volume. Otherwise, whisk and cook down to desired volume and consistency. Remember once the heat is turned off the sauce will thicken a bit more, so be careful with the flour.