Roast Stuffed Pork Loin with Marsala Sauce.

We had company for dinner last weekend, and Scott made this amazing pork roast. I used to have a subscription for Cooking Light several years, but then I dropped it.  I just renewed my subscription a couple of weeks, so when the December issue arrived, Scott  saw this recipe for this pork roast and knew that he had to make it. We have been together for 12 yrs, but never made a pork roast.  We always had either pork tenderloin or pork chops. I was able to find a lean center cut pork loin roast, and Scott trimmed of some of the fat on the roast. This roast does have various steps, some of which are time consuming, but well worth it, and makes a gorgeous, impressive, presentation. Perfect for a holiday dinner party or your Christmas dinner.  We might have made this for our Christmas dinner, but we have family members that don't eat pork or beef.  As a hostess, How do you handle all of these dietary restrictions? It seems like it is getting more and more difficult to plan a family dinner.

 The roast has a stuffing of bread crumbs. and cherries or dried cranberries fennel, and fresh sage and thyme  The roast is then butterflied, pounded thin, and the stuffing is placed inside the roast, rolled up, tied with twine, then browned on the stove top. and roasted in the oven. A finishing sauce is then made with more fresh herbs, shallots, pan drippings and Tawny Port Wine  We used Marsala, because we didn't have Port. We also used dried cranberries, because I couldn't find dried cherries. Those are the only changes we made to this wonderful recipe, except for the finished internal temp of the pork.  Scott did several of the steps earlier in the day, so he wouldn't be so crunched for time later in the day,  He prepared the roast, all the way to the browning on the stove top. and then refrigerated the roast until roasting time. Now the recipe says roast to an internal temp of 138 degrees F, which we thought was too low.  He went to 165F, and the roast was tender and perfect. Enjoy!

Roast Stuffed Pork Loin with Tawny Port Sauce by Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 cup tawny port
• 1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 3/4 cup finely chopped fennel bulb
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup sourdough breadcrumbs, toasted
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 1/2 cups no-salt-added chicken stock (such as Swanson), divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 fresh sage leaves
• 1 shallot, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.


2. Combine port and cherries in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 4 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Drain cherries in a sieve over a bowl, reserving cherries and port.

3. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add fennel and onion; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Combine fennel mixture, cherries, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Drizzle the melted butter and 1/4 cup stock over bread mixture, and toss. Stir in 2 teaspoons chopped sage, chopped thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

4. Cut horizontally through center of pork, cutting to, but not through, other side using a sharp knife; open flat, as you would a book. Place pork between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small, heavy skillet. Brush 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over inside of pork; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread bread mixture evenly over pork, leaving a 1/2-inch border around outside edges. Roll up pork, jelly-roll fashion, starting with short side. Secure at 2-inch intervals with twine. Brush outside of pork with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; sprinkle all sides of pork evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

5. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Place pork on a roasting rack coated with cooking spray; place rack in a roasting pan. Pour remaining 2 1/4 cups stock in bottom of roasting pan. Roast pork at 400° for 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in center of pork registers 138°. Remove pork from pan; let stand 15 minutes. Cut crosswise into 12 slices.

6. Place roasting pan over medium-high heat; add reserved port, thyme sprigs, sage leaves, and shallot; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1 cup (about 10 minutes). Combine flour and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to port mixture, stirring with a whisk; cook 5 minutes or until port mixture begins to thicken. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter, stirring until butter melts. Strain sauce; discard solids. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon chopped sage, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve sauce with pork.

I want to give a special Thanks to my dear friend Gina for the goodie box that I received  on Wednesday.  As you can see Gina and her elves ahve been working overtime baking all of these wonderful cookies and spreading her cookie love. I ate two the Chocolate Crinkles as I opened the box.  The angel is beautiful on my tree. Hugs, Gina!

I linked up my recipe to Brandie@The Country Cook's Weekend Potluck #46
 Stop by and say Hi to Brandie!