Stuffed Pork Loin

Stuffed Pork Loin

This recipe looks much more difficult than it actually is. The hardest part is butterflying the loin. You can do the same thing with a tenderloin but it is much harder to butterfly the meat. The nice thing about this recipe is you can cook it on a smoker, in the oven or in a modified indirect gas grill. It also looks REALLY impressive when sliced. Your guests will be impressed - and full - when dinner is done!

This picture is from the Havasu 2011 BBQ Comp - Anything Butt Competition. Looks great! Tastes better!

Ingredients:

Pork Loin

Baby Spinach - about 8oz

Pepper jack Cheese - shredded or sliced - about 1lb.

Hard Salami - about 1/2lb.

Dry Rub - I like Sweet Mesquite Dry Rub from Costco

Butterflying the loin is the hardest. You can see that this loin is triangle shaped instead of rectangular. The meat will dictate the shape. Try and find a loin that is the same thickness throughout the entire piece. Feel free to dig in the meat cooler - they won't mind!

I made one slice right down the middle and then about 1" from the bottom started slicing sideways. Use a really sharp knife and go slow - it isn't a race! Make as many slices as you need to create a flat, even piece of meat when finished. The time you take will be worth the time. Be careful not to cut too thin so the meat blows out (creates holes).

Note - I like to add a heavy layer of dry rub on the inside of the meat.

Lay down a heavy layer of baby spinach. Don't worry - it'll squish down.

Next the layer of hard salami. Why hard salami - don't know - seems to fit. The hard salami adds a little bit of fat without making the loin greasy and now there is two types of meat per bite! Don't be afraid to go thick - overlap and lay a heavy layer!

Next and final layer is the cheese. You can use sliced or grated pepper jack. You can see both in the following pictures. I didn't notice a difference between the two. Sliced is easier - I'd go with sliced.

Roll the loin up as tight as possible and then tie in at least three places with butcher's twine - as tight as possible. The meat won't feel it - get that twine tight!

Dust the outside of the loin on all sides with a heavy dose of your favorite dry rub. The Sweet Smokey Mesquite dry rub from Costco is really awesome!

This is the loin from Havasu - you can see they are much more square - and will look better when sliced. I also used sliced cheese instead of shredded. You can also see the heavy dose of dry rub under the stuffing ingredients.

Rolling up the loin as tight as possible.

Stuffed pork loin on the grate.

Make sure you cut all the butcher's twine off the meat before slicing or eating.

Pork Loin sliced up. The loin was cooked up to 150F internal. USDA rules have changed - old rules say the loin had to be cooked up to 165F internal. New rules say 150F. I also recommend resting the loin - wrap the loin in heavy duty foil and then in an old towel and placed on the counter - or even better - in a clean dry cooler - for an hour or so. This resting allows the juices in the meat to redistribute - making the meat more juicy.

Here's the stuffed loin plated with some smoked mac & cheese along with a Tapenade Stuffed Loin.

Here's the Stuffed Loin plated for the Havasu BBQ Anything Butt competition - along with Smoked Mashed Potatoes, Stone Ground Mustard, BBQ Sauce, and Raspberry Chili Powder Reduction. It was good for 3rd place!

Let's eat!