This magnificent main meat dish is a butterflied pork loin that is rolled to form a roulade with a filling of apple, walnut, raisins, and bratwurst to create something that tastes as good as it looks.
Once rolled and tied with butcher’s twine it is low and slow smoked to a rich mahogany color before being covered in a shiny apple juice based glaze. This picture-perfect main meat is ideal to be carved at the dining table.
The trick to creating the beautiful look is in the preparation including the butchering of an even piece of meat and then the careful wrapping a tieing of the pork ensuring even spacing of the twine and equal pressure into the meat.
Once the apple and walnut stuffed pork loin has finished resting it is covered in a glossy apple juice based glaze.
Preparation of the meat to ensure it is even and square means once rolled and tied it is perfectly cylindrical.
Once cooked through and rested the pork loin cuts evenly to expose the spiral of apple and walnut filling inside.
Lay the meat cleanly and flat on a large chopping board to ensure it is even thickness and square.
Keeping the filling elements diced into small even pieces helps it cook evenly and spread well over the pork.
The beautiful slices of spiraled apple and walnut in the pork loin make a wonderful main meat and can be served with a side salad or vegetables.
Apple Walnut Pork Loin Recipe
This roulade of pork is filled with a rich bratwurst, apple, raisin, and walnut stuffing. Once cooked and glazed it sliced to reveal its beautiful spiral within.
Preparation 45 minutes
Cook 2 hours
Ready in 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
Apple Walnut Stuffing
- ½ pound fresh (raw) bratwurst sausage
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 Granny Smith apple cored and diced
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup plain Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- Slap Yo’ Daddy "Love Me Tender" All Purpose Rub to taste
Pork Loin
- 2 pound center cut pork loin
- Slap Yo’ Daddy "Love Me Tender" All Purpose Rub to taste
Glaze
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup apple juice
Equipment
- smoker
- skillet
- butcher’s twine
- plastic wrap
- 1 chunk apple wood
- foil
Directions
Apple and Walnut Stuffing
- Remove the casings from the fresh (raw) bratwurst sausage and discard the casing.
- In a skillet sauté the bratwurst sausage in the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Remove the sausage once it’s browned and reserve the oil in the pan.
- Add the diced apple, raisins, and chopped walnuts into the same skillet and sauté a couple of minutes. Add the butter and cook until the apples are softened.
- Return the sausage to the skillet along with the Panko breadcrumbs. Stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add the apple juice. Adjust the juice amount, as needed, so the stuffing mixture is not too thick or not too runny.
- Add the rub to your desired taste.
- Chill the stuffing for an hour before proceeding to the next step.
Pork Loin
- Fillet (butterfly) the pork loin so you end up with a flat piece. Trim off excess ridges and thicknesses to create an even piece of pork. Cover with plastic wrap and pound flat with the smooth side of a mallet. Trim the sides to square up if necessary.
- Apply some rub or salt and pepper over all the flattened pork.
- Evenly spread the chilled apple and walnut stuffing over the pork leaving a 1-inch (2 ½ cm) border.
- Roll the pork into a spiral log then tie it with the butcher’s twine to create a log.Tip: Make sure the fat cap is on the outside of the roll to protect it while cooking and create a more balanced stuffing.
- Apply some Slap Yo’ Daddy rub on the outside of the pork roll then wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill until ready to cook.
To Cook
- Light the smoker and set the temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Add one large chunk of apple wood.
- Place the cold stuffed pork loin into the hot pit. Cook until the pork's internal temperature is 145 degrees F (62 degrees C). About 2 hours.Tip: Placing cold meat in a hot smoker helps develop a better smoke ring.
- Remove the stuffed pork loin from the pit and loosely tent with foil for 15 minutes to allow it to rest and for juices torn-distribute.
Glaze
- Gently heat the butter and brown sugar in a frypan. Add the Karo syrup and apple juice then simmer to reduce the mixture to the consistency of thin gravy.
- Pour the glaze over the loin.
- The glaze can be set by returning the stuffed pork loin to the smoker for 5 minutes.
- Slice into rings and serve.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 684kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 41gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 169mgSodium: 598mgPotassium: 877mgFiber: 2gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 592IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 2mg
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