Stuffed Pork Loin with Fig Jam and Bread Crumbs

Ingredients for pork loin stuffing: Seasonings, bread crumbs, Dijon Mustard and Fig Jam

I'd been wanting to post this recipe for several months, ever since I resurrected a recipe for home-made Fig Jam made with balsamic vinegar and caramelized onions.  I made a stuffed pork loin in the Fall but never got around to taking decent photos or posting the recipe.  Then life got in the way and the opportunity to make this dish hadn't presented itself until now.    

The recipe is fairly easy, and this step-by step photo technique should illuminate how you open up a roast to butterfly it, stuff it, roll it, truss it and roast it!

Bread crumb mixture w/seasonings, mustard, fig jam and garlic

Stuffed Pork Loin with Fig Jam and Bread Crumbs Ingredients:  

• 1 Pork Loin - about 2 1/2 pounds
• 1 Cup Plain Bread Crumbs
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves - minced
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes (or 1/4 cup fresh & minced)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Dried Thyme
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Minced Onions
• 1 Teaspoon Celery Seed
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 Cup Fig Jam
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper - for seasoning
• Kosher Salt - for seasoning
• Olive Oil - for drizzling
• Butcher's Twine
• Sheet Tray or Roasting Pan
• Aluminum Foil or Parchment paper



Pork Loin - needing a trim

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet tray or baking pan with either aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, minced garlic, parsley, thyme, onion flakes, celery seed, Dijon Mustard, Fig Jam and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.  Whisk to combine and turn the dry mixture into a wet mixture that holds together.  Set aside. If the mixture is too dry, add in a bit more mustard and fig jam, a tablespoon at a time.  You can also add in a tablespoon of olive oil to get the mixture to be more moist.
3. On a cutting board, trim away the fat and silver skin from the pork loin, before opening up the loin to butterfly it. Once the pork loin is trimmed of excess fat and membranes, make a slit through the center and begin opening up the loin like a book, cutting to the left and right of the meat but not cutting all the way through it.  Open up the meat until the round log-like loin is now longer and flattened.
4. Season the interior of the butterflied pork loin with a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.  Fill the inside with the breadcrumb mixture, spreading it evenly inside the butterflied pork loin. 
5. Roll the loin back up into a log, and use butcher's twine to secure the pork loin, trussing it to keep the meat together and the filling mixture inside.
6. Place the stuffed pork loin onto the prepared baking tray/pan. Season the outside of the pork loin with Kosher Salt and more Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.  Put the pork loin into the preheated oven and roast, for one hour to an hour and a half (approximately)
7. Check the interior temperature of the pork loin with an instant read thermometer reaches 150 degrees.  Take the pork loin out of oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let the roast rest for 10 minutes or longer before slicing.  
8. Serve with additional fig jam, if you have it, or with applesauce!  Serves 4 people.  Will hold for up to 5 days, covered and refrigerated.

Trim away the fat and silver skin

Make an incision into the center of the loin, to open it up like a book

Butterflied pork loin, opened and ready to be stuffed before being rolled and tied

Breadcrumb stuffing mixture ready for its place inside the pork loin

Season with some Kosher Salt and Grinds of Fresh Pepper

Fill the opened pork loin with the breadcrumb mixture

All the cavity spaces are filled with the flavorful mixture

Just like making a savory jelly roll! Roll up the pork loin and tie it

Don't worry if you can't do a Butcher's Truss - just tie pieces of Butcher's twine around the pork loin to keep it in shape

Season the outside of the loin with Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Pepper and a little bit of Olive Oil

Roast the pork loin for an hour and and a half , at 425, covering partially, then removing the cover to brown

Let the roast rest, lightly covered with foil, for 10 to 20 minutes before slicing

Serve with extra fig jam and enjoy!

Sunday Supper is Ready!