Brined and Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

A pork loin roast is brined for hours, tied around a stuffing of apples, spinach, and walnuts, then roasted to perfection.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins
• Calories: 399 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 cups water
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• ½ cup salt
• 1 (4 pound) boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese, or to taste
• 5 ounces spinach, chopped

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step 2

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.

Step 3

Place pork roast into a large nonreactive bowl, pour brine over pork, and cover; marinate in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

Step 4

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.

Step 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.

Step 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.