Stuff And Nonsense

My Beloved recently went to Las Vegas for a trade show, bringing home a friend's recipe for bratwurst wrapped in hamburger and sealed with strips of bacon, chilled, then barbecued.  I haven't made that one yet but the idea of stuffing meats settled in my brain as I was making our dinner that evening and I decided to try it.

I was roasting pork tenderloin that evening - it seemed like a natural. I wanted some fruitiness and some herbal and earthy qualities, so I used a white nectarine, garlic, shallots, mushrooms, prosciutto, plus fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden. I sautéed all of those together briefly, adding the nectarine last, then set the mixture aside to cool while I prepped the tenderloins.

Construction was somewhat inventive, since I have never done this before. I had two tenderloins, so I laid the thin end of one against the thick end of the other to even out the cooking times. With a sharp knife, I drew a line down the center of each tenderloin to make a groove for the stuffing, not cutting through the last 3/4".

I lined the groove with overlapping slices of prosciutto, tucking them down into the grooves, and mounded the stuffing down the center of the bottom tenderloin before topping it with the second tenderloin and tying the whole thing up tightly with string to keep the two halves together.

I browned the roast briefly in the sauté pan and tucked it into a roasting pan, then slid it into a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. When it came out, it rested under foil for another 10 minutes before I sliced and served. The meat was meltingly tender, the stuffing was complex and elegant.

My Beloved took a bite, approved, and asked if I had bought it at the Woodlands Market, since that market makes really elegant things like this.  When I said, "Nonsense, I made it myself," he was most impressed. It was easier than this somewhat complicated writing would indicate - only the tying with string was dodgy and, next time, I'd know to lay out strings under the bottom tenderloin before stuffing to simplify that process. 


Here's a list of my stuffing ingredients but, honestly, I've already thought of several more ideas for doing this using other fruits and flavors. Let your imagination be your guide.


Stuffed Pork Loins


2 pork tenderloins
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, small dice
1 large mushroom, small dice
1 white nectarine, pitted and chopped
4 thin slices prosciutto


kitchen string