So, we had a housewarming party last weekend. We provided the entree (stuffed pork roast) while others provided various side dishes and desserts. The pork went over amazingly well, and several people have asked for the recipe, so here it is.

First off, we had to deal with feeding 20-25 people. Given the extra side dishes we were going to have, I estimated that roughly ten pounds of pork loin would be sufficient. I wanted to try three different kinds of stuffing, I got two three-pound roasts and one four-pound roast. Here’s where I ran into problems. What I found when I cut the butcher’s twine holding the roasts together was that each one was two separate loin roasts tied together into a frankenroast, if you will. After considering the problem (and making sure I had enough twine on hand), I decided to make six roasts, then, and eliminate the hassle of trying to tie them back together.

The first thing I did was teach myself how to do a roll cut, in which you slowly cut the roast in a spiral fashion, unrolling as you go. It took a few roasts to really get the hang of it, but it wasn’t that hard. One thing you need for this, though, is a VERY sharp knife. I found that the best approach was to make a series of small cuts, going bit by bit. If you accidentally poke all the way through, no problem – back up a bit and continue the spiral cut in the proper place. You’ll be tying this all together so it all works out.

Once I had cut all six roasts (one was quite small, so I settled for just cutting a pocket in the side of it, I put them into a bucket with two gallons of cold water, two cups of kosher salt, and a half-cup of brown sugar. I set the bucket out on the balcony, where it was 34 degrees F. See? There are benefits to living in Chicago!

While the pork brined, I set about making the stuffings. I wanted to make three different ones: An apple-based one, an herb-based one, and a mushroom-based one. I’m afraid I don’t really have proportions on these ingredients, it was really more of a “toss it together, taste as you go, and get the right consistency”. I was generally aiming for a wet, crumbly mixture that barely held together if you squeezed it.

Apple Stuffing
Dried apples
Brandy (I had some so-so calvados around, so it was sacrificed for the cause)
Fresh sage (chopped fine)
Bread crumbs
Onion (diced)
Chicken broth (I used Swanson’s Organic. Good stuff!)

I put the dried apples into a sauce pan with about two cups of brandy and simmered on medium-low them for about fifteen minutes, until the brandy was almost gone, absorbed by the apples. I set that aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, I added the apples to a food processor, and added the sage, bread crumbs, and onion and pulsed it several times to get the right consistency. This then went into the fridge.

Herb Stuffing
Fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
Garlic, minced
Butter
Bread crumbs
Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Egg yolk
Chicken broth

This one was a bit easier; it was just a case of mixing all of these together and adjusting to the proper consistency with chicken broth. Once it was done, it went into the fridge.

Mushroom Stuffing
Mushrooms (diced fine)
Onions (diced fine)
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Rosemary (chopped fine)
Egg yolk
Lemon juice

Again, this was just a case of mixing everything together. (Make sure the egg yolk is well incorporated before you add the lemon juice, lest you curdle the egg.) This went into the fridge too.

After three hours, I pulled the pork roasts out of the brine, rinsed them, then patted them dry with paper towels. I took some olive oil (NOT extra-virgin!) and rubbed down each roast on all sides. Then it was time to stuff them. I laid each roast flat on the cutting board in front of me, with the original exterior of the roast down against the board. I took handfuls of stuffing and patted it into a layer about a quarter-inch thick, leaving about an inch uncovered at the end that was going to be at the end of the roll (the closest bit to the exterior once rolled up). Once that was done, I rolled them up tightly, and secured the roast by tying it with butcher’s twine, about one loop every two inches.

Once all of the roasts were stuffed and tied, I sprinkled them liberally with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper. I arranged these on two separate broiling pans, with the two mushroom roasts separate since one of our guests was allergic to mushrooms. I put the pans into a preheated 375 degree F oven. These took about an hour and 45 minutes (I swapped the pans from top to bottom rack and vice versa midway through, also turning them 180 degrees), your mileage may vary depending on your oven and how much pork you’re cooking 🙂 I was aiming for an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Once they hit that point, I pulled them out and tented them with aluminum foil and let them rest for 10-15 minutes. You really do want them to rest! Not only will the temperature carryover finish off the cooking, the meat will firm up a bit and the whole roast won’t fall apart when you cut it. I carved the roasts into 1/2 slices.

Our guests devoured ten pounds of pork in less than 20 minutes, so I gather that these recipes worked out well. For my part, I’ve never been a huge fan of fruit and meat together, but the apple stuffing was just divine, and something I would definitely make again! The mushroom stuffing could probably use a bit more pep – perhaps a bit more rosemary, and a bit more lemon juice might have helped. The herb stuffing was extremely tasty, too!