Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

This recipe, sometimes called a rolled pork roast, makes for an elegant presentation of a simple, inexpensive roast. 

The pork loin roast is very lean and often cooks up dry. Using this method, it will remain juicy and be flavorful. I do recommend that you prepare the roast roll in the morning. Wrap completely with plastic wrap and place on a plate in the refrigerator for 2-6 hours before roasting. This will increase the roast's moisture. 

I use a center cut pork loin and trim off most of the fat cap, replacing it with bacon for roasting. You can stuff the pork roast in this manner with pretty much anything you desire, even the traditional bread dressing. If using meat in the stuffing, you will need to cook that in a skillet first to insure it is cooked through before making your stuffing. You can also pulse your stuffing ingredients in a food processor to make more of a paste if you prefer. As I'm using chopped sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach, so no advance cooking or food processing is required.

Ingredients

2.5-3 pound pork loin roast, boneless

1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard

1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil

   sliced or chopped

1 handful of fresh spinach leaves

    stems removed

1/3 cup grated swiss or mozzarella cheese

Fresh ground black pepper

3-4 slices thick cut bacon

Butchers twine

Instructions

Rinse and dry the pork roast and carefully trim the fat cap. Discard the fat. Preheat oven to 325F degrees (convect roast setting) with rack set to the upper middle position or 350F degrees without convection. 

Prepare the Pork: There are two ways to carve the roast so it is ready to stuff and roll. Today I'm cutting the roast in half not quite all the way through so it will open like a book. I then pound it out until it's uniformly 1-inch thick. However you can also cut the roast 1/3 of the way up from the bottom (not cutting all the way through) and flip it open like a book. Press it flat with your hand. Using your knife, cut from the center outward so the thicker side is cut in half (again not cutting all the way through) so you can flip that section open again. Press it flat with your hand. You will now a rectangular piece of pork with all sections still connected which is about 1-inch thick. 

Stuff and tie the Pork:   Lay the flattened roast on your cutting board and spread the mustard, leaving 1-inch  around the edge. Sprinkle the salt and brown sugar over the mustard. Scatter the dried tomatoes and then cover with spinach.  Sprinkle on the cheese. Take the roast by the short edge and carefully roll it into a rounded loaf. Set aside with the cut edge down to hold it in place. 

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Cut five sections of butchers twine long enough to wrap around the roast and one more piece of twine to wrap the roast end to end. Lay the single long piece of twine across the center of your cutting board on it's longest side. Then equally space the five pieces of twine across your cutting board perpendicular to the long piece. Set the rolled roast onto the cutting board so that the roast's open ends are aligned with the longest piece of string on the long side of your cutting board.(see drawing below)  Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper all over. Lay the bacon slices from on top of the roast so they cover the top completely. One by one, bring each of the five pieces of twine up to the top of the roast and tie it tightly, but not so tightly you force out the stuffing. Do not cut off the excess ends. After all five are tied, bring the long horizontal piece of twine up and tie it. Using the extra twine handles tie another knot on each of the five pieces that captures the horizontal piece of twine, locking everything in place. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place on a plate or tray in the refrigerator until ready for roasting later in the day, ideally 2-6 hours. You can skip this and go right on to roasting but it will be less juicy. 

Roast the Pork: Transfer rolled pork loin, bacon side up, to wire rack set inside a roasting pan, baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Add some water to the roasting pan to stop drippings from smoking. Roast until thickest part of meat registers 135-140F degrees, about 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pork to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest 20-30 minutes. Remove twine. Cut into slices and serve.