Brined and Stuffed Pork Loin Roast
Description
A pork loin roast is brined for hours, tied around a stuffing of apples, spinach, and walnuts, then roasted to perfection.
Ingredients
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6 cups water
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1/2 cup salt
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1/2 cup dark brown sugar
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2 bay leaves
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2 sprigs fresh rosemary
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1 teaspoon ground black pepper
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1 teaspoon dried thyme
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1 (4 pound) boneless pork loin roast
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple
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2 tablespoons minced shallots
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5 ounces spinach, chopped
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3/4 cup chopped walnuts
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1 egg
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1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese, or to taste
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salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
1
Mix water, salt, and brown sugar in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Add bay leaves, rosemary, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer brine for 5 minutes. Let brine cool to room temperature.
2
Place pork roast into a large nonreactive bowl, pour brine over pork, and cover; marinate in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
3
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir apple and shallots into hot oil until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature, and mix spinach, walnuts, egg, and goat cheese into apple mixture. Season stuffing with salt and black pepper.
4
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5
Remove pork from brine and discard used brine. Cut roast lengthwise down the center to within about 1 1/2 inches of the bottom and open the roast like a book. Spoon apple stuffing onto one side of meat and fold the other half over the stuffing. Tie the roast closed in 4 or 5 places with kitchen twine. Set roast on a rack placed into a roasting pan.
6
Roast in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the stuffing reads 145 to 150 degrees F (63 degrees C to 65 degrees C), about 1 hour and 15 minutes.