Bacon and Apple-Stuffed Barbecue Pork Loin

By carol gorman

Ingredients

• 1 1boneless pork loin roasts, (1.5 kg)
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup apple jelly
• 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
• 4 slices sodium-reduced bacon
• 2 tshallots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic, minced
• 1 1Gala or Empire apple, peeled, cored and cut in 1/2-inch (1 cm) chunks
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 2 cups diced (1/2-inch/1 cm) French or Italian bread
• 1/3 cup sodium-reduced chicken broth

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from canadianliving.com

Preparation

Step 1

Bacon and Apple Stuffing: In large nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, turning once, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towel–lined plate to cool slightly. Chop into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

Drain all but 2 tsp of bacon fat from skillet; cook shallots and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add apple, sage, thyme, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until apple is just tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in bread. Drizzle broth over top; cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl; stir in bacon. Let cool to room temperature. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Meanwhile, place roast, fat side up, on cutting board with short end facing you. Position knife horizontally 3/4 inch (2 cm) from bottom of roast;cut 1 inch (2.5 cm) toward centre of pork. Lift up top half of pork; continue making shallow horizontal cuts deeper into roast, unrolling top of pork as you cut and keeping knife parallel to cutting board to maintain the same thickness, until pork unrolls to form flat rectangle. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Spoon stuffing vertically along centre of pork. Working in same direction you unrolled, roll up pork tightly so that fat side is up and seam is facing down. Tie tightly with butcher's twine at 2-inch (5 cm) intervals.

Set foil drip pan under 1 rack of 2-burner barbecue or under centre rack of 3-burner barbecue. Heat remaining burner(s) to medium heat (375 F/190 C). Place roast on greased grill over drip pan; close lid. Grill until instant-read thermometer inserted in centre reads 160 F (71 C), or just a hint if pink remains in pork, about 1-1/2 hours.

In small saucepan, mix apple jelly with mustard; cook over medium heat, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Brush apple jelly mixture over cooked roast. Increase heat on grill to high; close lid. Grill until glaze is slightly browned, about 3 minutes. Cover loosely; let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Change it up - Bacon and Apple–Stuffed Oven-Roasted Pork Loin: Bake in 375 F (190 C) oven until instant-read thermometer inserted in centre reads 160 F (71 C), or just a hint of pink remains in pork, about 1-1/2 hours. Brush with glaze; broil until slightly browned, about 4 minutes.