Bacon & Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin
Recipe created by Chef Angie of Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store (www.wellseasoned.ca)
Ingredients
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 slices Johnston's Thick-Cut Bacon chopped
- ½ cup dried apricots chopped
- kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 3 1/2 lbs Center-Cut Boneless Johnston’s Pork Loin Roast not tied
- ½ tsp grated orange zest
- ½ cup dry white wine
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375°F.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the apricots, 1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper to taste. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, deglaze with the white wine. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs and the parsley. Let cool.
- Make a hole for stuffing that runs lengthwise through pork loin: Beginning in middle of 1 end of roast, insert a sharp long thin knife lengthwise toward center of loin, then repeat at opposite end of loin to complete incision running through middle. Open up incision with your fingers, working from both ends, to create a 1 1/2-inch wide opening, then pack with all of stuffing, pushing from both ends toward center. Pack it as tightly as possible.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy pan over high heat until very hot and just smoking, then brown pork on all sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pan with the roast in it, to the middle rack of the oven until a meat thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into meat (avoid stuffing) registers 140°F, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let it rest, tented with a piece of tin foil for about 12 minutes. Slice the roast and serve immediately.
