Pork tenderloin is one of my favourite cuts of pork; it's lean, flavourful, it's relatively inexpensive as well as easy to cook. Sometimes though, you want to jazz things up a little. I stuff my tenderloin, as it doesn't take a long time to do and it looks beautiful, as well as creating beautiful flavours.
Stuffed tenderloin is a great all year round dish because the cut, (in the UK at least), is available all year round to buy. You can serve, like I have, with green leaves, new potatoes and a light sauce in the warmer months, and serve with mash potatoes, roasted root veg and a gravy in the winter months.
Pork, really shouldn't be cooked all the way through, it should have some pinkness, but if you have someone that prefers it cooked all the way through, it's not a problem. Just like any joint or larger piece of meat, the middle can have some pinkness, whilst the ends are cooked all the way through.
It's an impressive dinner party piece, it can be prepped in advance, and will only take you away from your diners for 15 minutes. You can slice it up on a decorative board, and place it in the middle of the table and everyone can help themselves.
I've chosen simple flavours for the stuffing; spinach and mushrooms - both go great with the pork, but have enough flavour not to overpower the meat, yet still be able to taste it.
I've done my recipe for the tenderloin and brown butter sage sauce; the accompaniments are really what suits your palette.
Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- Pork tenderloin fillet (mine weight approx. 375g)
- 10-12 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon
- Large bag (I used 150g for my size of meat) washed spinach
- 150g closed cup mushrooms (any other white mushroom will work), finely diced
- Small white onion, finely diced
- Knob of butter
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
Method
- To make the stuffing, melt the butter in a frying pan, over a low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and mushrooms, and sauteé for around 10 minutes (or until soft). Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and leave to one side to cool.
- Using the same frying pan as the mushrooms, wilt the spinach, stirring frequently. Once wilted, remove from the pan and leave to one side to cool.
- Butterfly your pork - Insert a sharp knife, into the pork, around 3/4 deep of the joint and slice along the meat to open it up. Flatten the meat (I used a rolling pin), until it has doubled in width, taking care not to break the meat. Leave to one side.
- Place a large piece of cling film on clean work surface, an lay the bacon vertically on it, and then place the pork across the bacon horizontally.
- Layer your spinach first, across the pork, and then do the same with the mushrooms.
- To roll the pork, use the cling film that the meat is on, and pull it slowly towards you. This should roll the bacon onto the pork, and the pork should now be folded in half. Do the same process again, trying to keep the meat as tight as possible (you can use one hand to hold the pork together and the other on the cling film if needed) and then the pork should be in one neat roll. Wrap the excess cling film around the roll, tuck in any loose bacon on the ends and then twist the ends of the cling film to secure it. I normally do an extra layer of cling film to secure it better. Leave in the fridge for a minimum of half an hour.
- Remove the pork from the fridge half an hour before you intend to cook it and preheat the oven to 200c fan/Gas Mark 7.
- Fry the rolled pork in a frying pan, on a high heat, for about 5 minutes, turning so the bacon has started to brown on all sides. Transfer to a non stick over tray and put in the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on your serving preference (on a meat thermometer, it should reach 75c in the middle of the joint).
- Turn your oven off, open the door slightly and leave the meat to rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice the meat using a sharp knife, and serve.
Brown Butter Sage Sauce
Ingredients
- 100g good quality salted butter
- 2 tsp dried sage
Method
- Place the butter in a saucepan and melt, stirring frequently, over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the butter has lightly browned. Stir in the sage, continue to heat for a further minute and then drizzle over the meat.
Plating up
To plate yours up how I did mine, you will need some washed rocket leaves and some cooked new potatoes that have been cut into medium chunks.
- Place the rocket vertically in the centre of the plate.
- Lay the sliced pork on top of the rocket.
- Scatter the potatoes either side of the pork.
- Drizzle the butter sauce across the pork.
Tips, tricks and hints
- Providing you wrap the pork with some extra cling film, it will freeze as one whole piece. Just defrost fully and then cook it as instructed above.
- I did a small lattice with my bacon on the cling film - this is only for presentation purposes, but it's good to do if you intend on presenting the joint as a whole piece and carving at the table.
- You really do need to rest the meat. It will fall apart if you don't leave it for at least 5 minutes, but it will also keep the meat moist.
- Struggling with the rolling? Instead of cling film, use some cocktail sticks, that have soaked in water, to secure it - it might not be as neat, but it still works - just remember to take them out once cooked!
- Should you cut the pork too deep, or you discover it has a hole in it, just make sure a rasher of bacon is covering the hole, and you should be fine!