Apple-Stuffed Pork Loin Roast Recipe

I got the idea for making a stuffed pork loin roast when I read a delicious-sounding recipe for stuffed lamb. Then I realized it is impossible to find cheap lamb, so I thought, "Why not pork?" Pork tenderloin was the perfect choice, and I knew it'd taste good stuffed with apples; I mean, pork chops and apple sauce are a classic! I just didn't know exactly what else to stuff it with.
I knew I was going for a fall theme, one with cranberries and spinach and apple cider, so I started looking up "apple stuffed pork loin roast" recipes. I found many interesting recipes, and after a while, I settled as one as my main guide. Apple-Stuffed Pork Loin with Cider Sauce is an excellent recipe, but I made some changes after my initial trip to the grocery store.

Ingredients

This is the beginnings of the stuffing; the apples are just be-
ginning to turn gold in the picture.

• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 chopped apples
• 1 medium chopped yellow onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup thick cut bacon, chopped
• 1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 1/2 apple cider (possibly more)
• 1 boneless pork loin roast, 2 1/2 lbs

Procedure

Stuffing: heat oil in medium sized skillet and saute apples and onion until onion is translucent and apples golden, about five minutes. Then add garlic and saute about 1 one minute, until garlic becomes aromatic. Add cranberries, thyme, and 1/2 cup of apple cider. Boil, stirring occasionally, until cider is completely absorbed. Fold in bacon and blue cheese and then remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly. You can store this stuffing overnight if needed.

This picture perfectly shows the browned outside of
the pork tenderloin; it almost began to burn, but I took it
out just as the color was deepening enough. The texture was
crisp and locked in flavor perfectly.

Next, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and make four 18 inch segments of kitchen string. Butterfly your pork tenderloin, making sure not to cut all the way through. evenly distribute stuffing to center and then tie tenderloin with string so that it returns to its original shape. You might need to push some of the stuffing back in if it falls out of the sides! Next, rub the loin roast with thyme, salt, and pepper. Place in a roasting pan with another 1/2 cup of cider and roast for about 1 hour, or until a thermometer read above 150 degree Fahrenheit. Baste every 15 minutes unless you want a dry roast! and a little more cider every time you baste until the final 1/2 cup remaining of apple cider is used.

If you aren't going to bake the tenderloin immediately, let stuffing cool about 15 minutes before stuffing the tenderloin with it.

Here was the completed main course! You can easily see the stuffing in the pork
tenderloin; especially evident are the apples and cranberries.