Dried Fruit Stuffed Pork Loin Recipes

FRUIT-STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix prunes, apricots, ginger, orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and cinnamon in a bowl; season with salt and black pepper.
• Open pork roast and spoon stuffing down the center; fold meat over stuffing and tie securely in several places with kitchen twine. Set roast onto a rack in a roasting pan.
• Combine brown sugar, flour, cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon cumin, and mustard powder into a paste; spread brown sugar mixture over the roast.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a meat thermometer inserted into center of stuffing reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer roast to a serving platter and tent with aluminum foil while you make gravy.
• Skim fat from roasting pan and transfer defatted drippings into a small saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup water into roasting pan and scrape up and dissolve any browned bits of food into water; pour into saucepan with pan juices. Bring pan juices to a boil over medium heat. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and whisk cornstarch mixture into pan juices, stirring constantly until thickened, about 1 minute. Strain gravy into a gravy boat. Serve gravy with roast.

BOURBON AND DRIED PLUM STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• For the filling: Combine the bourbon and dried plums in a small bowl and set aside.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan. Add the onions and some salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring, over medium heat until very tender but not browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, rosemary and cumin and cook 30 seconds more.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the dried plums and bourbon. Carefully return the pan to the heat and cook until reduced by half. Stir in the remaining tablespoon butter. Remove the pan from the heat and add the breadcrumbs. Stir well to incorporate, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
• For the pork loin: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Rub the mixture all over the pork loin and place on a cutting board with the fat side facing up. Starting on one side of the loin, insert a paring knife or thin fillet knife through the cut side of the loin toward the center of the meat, keeping both your knife and the meat centered. (You are trying to create a hole through the center of the loin while keeping the entire roast intact, like a tunnel.) If your knife is not long enough to reach all the way through the loin, make the same cut from the opposite end of the loin to connect the two cuts.
• Lay a sheet of plastic wrap out on the cutting board. Arrange the stuffing in the center of the plastic wrap. Shape the stuffing so that it lays in a narrow rectangle, the same length as the pork loin. Tightly wrap the stuffing in the plastic wrap, maintaining the shape. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to tighten the shape and tie a knot at each end as close to the stuffing as possible.
• Insert a metal skewer with a looped end through the hole in the pork loin. Tie one end of the plastic wrap around the loop and use it to pull the stuffing into the center of the pork loin.
• When the stuffing is centered, cut the knot off one end of the plastic wrap. Pull the plastic wrap from the other end while squeezing to extract the stuffing. As you pinch and pull, the plastic wrap should come out, leaving the stuffing behind inside the pork loin.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and place the pork loin fat-side down on top. Roast the pork loin, 25 minutes. Flip the pork loin so that the fat side is now facing up. Cook until a thermometer inserted into the center of the pork loin registers 140 degrees F, about 20 minutes more. Transfer the pork loin to a rack to rest. (The internal temperature should reach a minimum of 145 degrees F as it rests.)
• Slice into 1/2-inch thick and drizzle with good-quality olive oil before serving.

DRIED FRUIT STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine apricots, figs and raisins over medium heat. Add apple juice and chicken broth. Add sage, butter, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the fruits are reconstituted and the liquid is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Transfer the fruit mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until thick and smooth.
• Carve a tunnel through the center of the loin with a sharpening steel or wooden dowel. Widen the tunnel using your fingers. Inject the sauce into the opening using a pastry bag fitted with a metal tip. The filling should go all the way through the loin. Rub the pork all over with oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Sear the pork on a hot grill on all sides then transfer to a large baking pan. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 160 degrees F, about 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer pork roast to a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes before carving into pinwheels. Serve with pan juices.

FRUIT-STUFFED LOIN OF PORK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Using the long handle of a wooden spoon, push the dried fruit into the pocket in the roast, alternating the fruits.
• Cut the garlic into thin slivers. Make deep slits in the roast with tip of a knife and push the garlic into the slits.
• Tie the roast with twine and rub surface with salt and pepper.
• Set the roast in a shallow baking pan and smear the butter over the roast. Sprinkle with thyme.
• Stir Madeira and molasses together in a small bowl and pour over roast. Set the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake approximately 1 1/2 hours, basting often (approximately 20 minutes per pound).
• When done, let stand, loosely covered with foil about 15 minutes. Cut thin slices and spoon pan juices over them.

FRUIT-STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place dried fruit mix in bowl and add boiling water.
• Set aside to rehydrate.
• Trim all fat and silverskin from tenderloin.
• Slit tenderloin lengthwise (not quite all the way through) making a pocket for the stuffing.
• Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper.
• Drain the fruit mix.
• Peel and core the apple and mix with fruit and place in meat pocket.
• Tie the meat with cord at 1-1 1/2 inch intervals.
• Place meat in 13x9x2 ungreased pan and roast uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Lower heat to 350F and roast for 20 minutes longer.
• Remove from oven and let stand for 20 minutes.
• Cut into 1/2 - 1 inch slices and serve.

FRUIT-STUFFED PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°. Place pork, fat side up, on cutting board. Cut horizontally through center of pork almost to opposite side. Open pork like a book. Layer dried fruits and onion in opening. Bring halves of pork together; tie at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Turn pork so fat is on bottom. Mix salt, thyme, cinnamon and pepper in small bowl; rub into pork.
• Heat oil in roaster over medium-high heat. Cook pork in oil until brown on all sides. Add 2 tablespoons of the apple cider. Cook pork, turning frequently, until cider caramelizes and surface of pork turns dark brown. Repeat browning with additional 2 tablespoons cider. Add remaining cider. Insert meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of pork.
• Cover and bake 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours or until pork is no longer pink in center and thermometer reads 155°. Remove pork from pan, cover with aluminum foil and let stand about 15 minutes until temperature rises to 160°. Serve pork with Apple Cider Gravy.

ROSEMARY-SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC, DRIED APRICOTS AND CRANBERRIES AND PORT WINE PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
• Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through, to form a long pocket, leaving a 1/2-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 Tb. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apricots; sprinkle in cranberries. Tie loin together with kitchen twine or heavy-duty string at 1 1/2-inch intervals.
• Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat-side up, diagonally or curved (so it fits) on a large, lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. Warm 1/4 cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary. Brush mixture onto meat.
• Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125 to 130 degrees. (Start checking at about 1 1/2 hours.) Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven, and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), about 20 minutes longer. For even more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits. Pour through a strainer into a small pan, and stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 Tbs. of jelly; bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and serve with a little sauce.

BACON-WRAPPED ROAST PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, warm, but do not boil, the brandy. Place the fruit in a small bowl, cover with the brandy and soak for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the brandy, and coarsely chop the fruit. Return the fruit to the bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of the sage and 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme and season it lightly with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the pork on a work surface. Using a long, round metal or wooden skewer about 3/4-inch thick, pierce a channel through the center of the loin. Stuff the fruit into the channel, using the skewer to pack it in. Season the loin lightly with salt and pepper and drape the bacon slices over it.
• Use butcher's twine to tie the roast. Place the roast in a roasting pan fitted with a rack and roast for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue to roast until the pork is cooked but, when poked with a knife, the juices at the center still run slightly pink, about 1 hour more. Transfer the roast to a serving platter and allow to rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove the rack and place the roasting pan on top of the stove over medium heat. Add the shallots to the pan juices and cook, stirring, until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the reserved brandy and the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Whisk in the cream and mustard and continue to simmer until slightly thickened.
• To serve, remove the twine from the roast, slice and serve with the cream sauce.

FRUIT-STUFFED PORK ROAST

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the plums, apricots, ginger, 3/4 teaspoon cumin, orange zest, cinnamon, salt and pepper; set aside. Untie roast and separate pieces. Spoon fruit mixture onto one piece. Top with the second piece; retie with kitchen string. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan., Combine the brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, mustard, vinegar and remaining cumin until smooth; rub over roast. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until a thermometer in the pork reads 145°. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN WITH FRESH AND DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle pork with 2 teaspoons rosemary, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork (cut to fit, if necessary) and sauté until brown, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Using tongs, transfer pork to plate. Add shallots to skillet and sauté until brown, about 4 minutes. Add apples, kumquats, and cranberries; stir until fruit mixture is heated through, about 1 minute. Add broth, wine, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary. Boil 1 minute. Return pork and any juices to skillet, turning to coat with sauce.
• Place skillet in oven and roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 145°F to 150°F, about 25 minutes. Transfer pork to platter; let stand 10 minutes. If thicker sauce is desired, boil juices in skillet until reduced enough to coat spoon. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Slice pork crosswise and spoon sauce over.