Fig And Blue Cheese Stuffed Prok Tenderloin Recipes

BLUE CHEESE-STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 400°F.
• In 8-inch skillet, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat and cool about 5 minutes.
• In medium bowl, stir cheese vigorously with spoon. Stir in cooled onion mixture, cherries, pecans and thyme; set aside.
• Place 1 pork piece on work surface with short side facing you. Use knife to slit in half lengthwise without going all the way through. Open pork like a book. Repeat with remaining pork. Spread half of the cheese mixture in center of each pork piece. Close up pork and tie with kitchen twine to secure. Season outside with salt and pepper.
• In 12-inch ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering and hot. Add pork and cook about 4 minutes or until browned. Flip, being careful not to open them up, and cook about 4 minutes longer. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in the thickest part of pork.
• Place skillet in oven and roast 10 to 15 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in center reads 155°F. Remove from oven and allow to rest, loosely covered with foil, about 5 minutes (temperature will continue to rise to 160°F). Slice each pork piece into 6 pieces. (If you don't have an ovenproof skillet, after browning pork in skillet, carefully place them in foil-lined 13x9-inch pan and then place in oven.)

FIG AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Butterfly the pork by slicing it in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, the other side. Open the halves (like a book), laying pork flat.
• Place pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
• Sprinkle the figs and blue cheese over the pork, leaving about a 1/2-inch margin around the outside edges. Roll up the pork lengthwise, like a jelly-roll. (I tucked in the sides prior to rolling to keep stuffing in, but this is optional.) Secure at 2-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper, and place on a foil-lined pan coated with cooking spray.
• The original recipe called for baking it at 450°F for 20 minutes, however, I've found the tenderloin to still be raw in some areas, so I've adjusted the pre-jelly cooking time to about 25-30 minutes. Use a thermometer to gauge.
• Remove the pork from the oven and brush with the melted apple jelly. Return the pork to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the thermometer reads 160°F (slightly pink). Keep an eye on the pork if cooking for longer than the additional 5 minutes because I've found the apple jelly that melts onto the pan will begin to burn.
• Remove the pork from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes. Remove the twine and cut the pork into 1 inch slices, or to the thickness of your liking.
• Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 1-inch slices).

STUFFED PORK LOIN WITH FIGS

Steps:

• Put figs in hot water to soak. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Wriggle a thin, sharp knife into each end of meat, making a kind of pilot hole. Then use handle of a long wooden spoon to force a hole all the way through meat, making it as wide as your thumb.
• Drain when figs are tender but not mushy, reserving liquid. Stuff figs into roast, all the way to center from each end.
• Combine salt, pepper and rosemary and rub it all over meat. Put meat in a roasting pan and pour about half a cup of fruit-soaking liquid over it. Roast undisturbed for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and continue to cook, basting with pan juices (or added liquid, like wine or water, if necessary) every 15 minutes or so. When an instant-read thermometer registers 145 to 150 degrees - probably after 40 to 60 minutes - remove roast to a warm platter. (When checking meat, be sure thermometer is in meat, not fruit.)
• Let sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put roasting pan on stove over one or two burners set to medium-high. If there is a lot of liquid, reduce it to about half a cup, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to release any brown bits. If pan is dry, add half a cup of wine and follow same process. When sauce has reduced, slice roast and serve with sauce.