Roast Pork Loin with Apricot, Cherry, and Pecan Stuffing
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1½ hours brining
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Roast
4.5 pounds boneless pork loin roast, from the blade endBrine
¾ cup granulated sugar, for brining¾ cup kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons table salt), for brining3 bay leaves, crumbled1 tablespoon allspice berries, lightly crushed1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed10 medium cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeledStuffing
7 ounces baguette slices roughly torn (about 5 cups)½ cup dried apricots (about 4 ounces)1 medium clove garlic, peeledPinch ground cumin Pinch ground coriander Pinch ground cinnamon Pinch cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons grated onion from 1 small onion½ cup dried cherries ½ cup pecans (about 3 ounces), toasted in medium skillet over medium heat until color deepens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, then cooled and chopped coarse2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)Ground black pepper 2 large eggs ½ cup heavy creamGlaze
½ cup apricot preservesBefore You Begin
Timing is important. The goal is to coordinate brining and stuffing so that the pork is out of the brine and ready to be stuffed when the pre-cooked stuffing comes out of the oven. To achieve this, begin preparing the stuffing ingredients immediately after setting the pork in the brine. Bamboo skewers, available in supermarkets (or see below), are our favorite way to fasten the roast around the stuffing. Alternatively, use poultry lacers (though they are generally sold only six to a package). The apricot preserves for the glaze can be melted in the microwave instead of on the stovetop. To do so, heat the preserves in a small, microwave-safe bowl, covered loosely with plastic wrap, at full power until melted, about 40 seconds.
Instructions
- Following illustrations 1 through 4, (see "Step by Step: Ready The Roast," below) trim, butterfly, and pound pork loin to even 1-inch thickness with mallet or bottom of heavy skillet.
- In a large, wide bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in 3 cups hot water. Add bay, allspice, peppercorns, garlic, and 5 cups cold water; stir to combine. Add butterflied and pounded pork; cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 11/2 hours. Remove pork from brine, pick spices off meat, and dry pork thoroughly with paper towels.
- Once the pork is in the brine, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process half the bread pieces in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade until broken into crumbs with few pieces no larger than about 1/4 inch, about 45 seconds; transfer to large mixing bowl and set aside. Repeat process with remaining bread pieces (you should have about 4 cups crumbs total).
- In now-empty workbowl, process apricots, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne until finely ground, about 30 seconds; add mixture to reserved bread crumbs. Add onion, cherries, pecans, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste to bread crumb and apricot mixture; toss until well distributed, breaking up any apricot clumps as necessary. Beat eggs and cream in small bowl; pour over bread and apricot mixture and toss with hands until evenly moistened and a portion of mixture holds together when pressed.
- On parchment paper–lined cookie sheet or inverted rimmed baking sheet, form stuffing into log shape equal in length to butterflied pork. Cover stuffing with foil and bake until firm and cooked through and butterflied pork has been removed from brine and prepared for stuffing, about 45 minutes. Remove stuffing from oven; increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.
- While stuffing bakes, heat apricot preserves in small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted but not liquefied, 5 to 7 minutes. Strain through small strainer into small bowl (you should have about 1/3 cup) and set aside; discard solids in strainer.
- TO STUFF, ROAST, Line shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with foil, position flat wire roasting rack over foil, and set aside. Following illustrations 5 through 8 (see "Step by Step: Ready The Roast," below), stuff, roll, fasten, and tie pork loin. Place stuffed roast on rack, brush one-half apricot glaze evenly over exposed surface of meat and roast 20 minutes. Remove roast from oven and, with tongs, rotate roast so that bottom side faces up. Brush exposed surface with remaining apricot glaze; return roast to oven and roast 25 minutes longer (glaze should be medium golden brown and internal temperature of both meat and stuffing should register 145 to 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer). Transfer roast to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Cut off twine, slice, and serve.
for the brine
for the stuffing and glaze
and glaze the roast
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1½ hours briningYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Roast
4.5 pounds boneless pork loin roast, from the blade end
Brine
¾ cup granulated sugar, for brining
¾ cup kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons table salt), for brining
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tablespoon allspice berries, lightly crushed
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
10 medium cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
Stuffing
7 ounces baguette slices roughly torn (about 5 cups)
½ cup dried apricots (about 4 ounces)
1 medium clove garlic, peeled
Pinch ground cumin
Pinch ground coriander
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons grated onion from 1 small onion
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup pecans (about 3 ounces), toasted in medium skillet over medium heat until color deepens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, then cooled and chopped coarse
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
Ground black pepper
2 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream
Glaze
½ cup apricot preserves
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Roast
4.5 pounds boneless pork loin roast, from the blade end
Brine
¾ cup granulated sugar, for brining
¾ cup kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons table salt), for brining
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tablespoon allspice berries, lightly crushed
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
10 medium cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
Stuffing
7 ounces baguette slices roughly torn (about 5 cups)
½ cup dried apricots (about 4 ounces)
1 medium clove garlic, peeled
Pinch ground cumin
Pinch ground coriander
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons grated onion from 1 small onion
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup pecans (about 3 ounces), toasted in medium skillet over medium heat until color deepens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, then cooled and chopped coarse
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
Ground black pepper
2 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream
Glaze
½ cup apricot preserves
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Roast
4.5 pounds boneless pork loin roast, from the blade end
Brine
¾ cup granulated sugar, for brining
¾ cup kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons table salt), for brining
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tablespoon allspice berries, lightly crushed
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
10 medium cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
Stuffing
7 ounces baguette slices roughly torn (about 5 cups)
½ cup dried apricots (about 4 ounces)
1 medium clove garlic, peeled
Pinch ground cumin
Pinch ground coriander
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons grated onion from 1 small onion
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup pecans (about 3 ounces), toasted in medium skillet over medium heat until color deepens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, then cooled and chopped coarse
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
Ground black pepper
2 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream
Glaze
½ cup apricot preserves
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
To ensure that our stuffed pork loin recipe would give us moist meat and a flavorful stuffing in one cohesive package, we first brined our boneless pork roast for flavor and texture and then butterflied and pounded it to an even thickness, increasing the meat’s surface area to maximize the amount of stuffing we could use. For the stuffing in our pork loin recipe, we used fresh bread as a base and flavored it with dried fruit, nuts, and herbs, adding eggs as a binder. Prebaking the stuffing before stuffing the roast got it to a temperature high enough that we didn’t have to roast the stuffed pork until it was dry and overcooked.
Before You Begin
Timing is important. The goal is to coordinate brining and stuffing so that the pork is out of the brine and ready to be stuffed when the pre-cooked stuffing comes out of the oven. To achieve this, begin preparing the stuffing ingredients immediately after setting the pork in the brine. Bamboo skewers, available in supermarkets (or see below), are our favorite way to fasten the roast around the stuffing. Alternatively, use poultry lacers (though they are generally sold only six to a package). The apricot preserves for the glaze can be melted in the microwave instead of on the stovetop. To do so, heat the preserves in a small, microwave-safe bowl, covered loosely with plastic wrap, at full power until melted, about 40 seconds.
Instructions
- Following illustrations 1 through 4, (see "Step by Step: Ready The Roast," below) trim, butterfly, and pound pork loin to even 1-inch thickness with mallet or bottom of heavy skillet.
- In a large, wide bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in 3 cups hot water. Add bay, allspice, peppercorns, garlic, and 5 cups cold water; stir to combine. Add butterflied and pounded pork; cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 11/2 hours. Remove pork from brine, pick spices off meat, and dry pork thoroughly with paper towels.
- Once the pork is in the brine, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Process half the bread pieces in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade until broken into crumbs with few pieces no larger than about 1/4 inch, about 45 seconds; transfer to large mixing bowl and set aside. Repeat process with remaining bread pieces (you should have about 4 cups crumbs total).
- In now-empty workbowl, process apricots, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne until finely ground, about 30 seconds; add mixture to reserved bread crumbs. Add onion, cherries, pecans, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste to bread crumb and apricot mixture; toss until well distributed, breaking up any apricot clumps as necessary. Beat eggs and cream in small bowl; pour over bread and apricot mixture and toss with hands until evenly moistened and a portion of mixture holds together when pressed.
- On parchment paper–lined cookie sheet or inverted rimmed baking sheet, form stuffing into log shape equal in length to butterflied pork. Cover stuffing with foil and bake until firm and cooked through and butterflied pork has been removed from brine and prepared for stuffing, about 45 minutes. Remove stuffing from oven; increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.
- While stuffing bakes, heat apricot preserves in small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted but not liquefied, 5 to 7 minutes. Strain through small strainer into small bowl (you should have about 1/3 cup) and set aside; discard solids in strainer.
- TO STUFF, ROAST, Line shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with foil, position flat wire roasting rack over foil, and set aside. Following illustrations 5 through 8 (see "Step by Step: Ready The Roast," below), stuff, roll, fasten, and tie pork loin. Place stuffed roast on rack, brush one-half apricot glaze evenly over exposed surface of meat and roast 20 minutes. Remove roast from oven and, with tongs, rotate roast so that bottom side faces up. Brush exposed surface with remaining apricot glaze; return roast to oven and roast 25 minutes longer (glaze should be medium golden brown and internal temperature of both meat and stuffing should register 145 to 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer). Transfer roast to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Cut off twine, slice, and serve.
for the brine
for the stuffing and glaze
and glaze the roast
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