Pork Loin Stuffed With Dried Figs And Apricots Recipes

PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH FIGS AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine figs and apricots in a medium bowl; pour boiling water over them. Set aside for 5 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve; return to bowl. Add garlic, 1/4 teaspoon sage, and breadcrumbs; season generously with salt and pepper. Stir until breadcrumbs are moistened.
• With a long, sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise down the middle of the loin, without cutting through; open it like a book. Place filling in the middle, packing lightly. Draw the edges of the loin together so that they slightly overlap, forming a cylinder around stuffing. (If it is hard to close, remove some of stuffing.) Tie pork with cotton kitchen twine every 1/2 inch.
• Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan with foil. Sprinkle pork with remaining 1/2 teaspoon sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Rub with oil; place in pan. Roast until meat registers 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 35 minutes; let rest (temperature will keep rising), 10 minutes. Snip string; discard. Slice meat; use a wide spatula to serve.

PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH DRIED FIGS AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• 1. For Stuffing, in a small saucepan, add dried fruit, 1 tsp garlic, brown sugar, herbs and wine. Bring to simmer, cover and cook until fruit is plump and tender and the wine has evaporated. If fruit is still tough, add a little more water and simmer until tender. Set aside to cool.
• 2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stand the roast on its end and insert a long slender knife down the center of the loin to make a 1 1/2 inch pocket and pack the fruit into the pocket working from both ends of the loin.
• 3. In a small bowl mix the mustard with 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Spread mixture over pork. Place on loin on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting for 50 to 60 minutes until a meat thermometer registers 155 degrees. Let rest 15 minutes and slice.

PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the raisins, prunes and apricots in a small bowl; pour in the brandy. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until hot, about 2 minutes. Set aside until the dried fruit is plump, at least 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and apple and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, sage, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook until the garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add the dried fruit?brandy mixture and cook until the skillet is dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer until the mixture is very soft and the skillet is almost dry, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Push the handle of a wooden spoon into the center of one end of the pork roast; work the handle through the length of the roast to create a tunnel, widening the tunnel with your fingers or a small paring knife until about 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Stuff the dried fruit mixture into the tunnel, firmly pressing to make sure it?s packed into the pork roast. Rub the outside of the pork roast with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If the pork has a skinny flap that runs along one side, tuck it under and tie kitchen twine around the pork in a few spots.
• Set a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the pork on the rack and roast until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let the pork rest at least 20 minutes before slicing.

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.