This Easy (Reverse-Seared!) Stuffed Pork Loin Is an Instant Holiday Classic

In the Venn diagram of holiday centerpiece–worthy roasts that are easy, impressive, and affordable, a stuffed pork loin is one of the few rainbow unicorns that fit right in that little area where all three qualities overlap.

Think of the pork loin roast—the cut from which pork chops are sliced—as pork’s equivalent to a beef prime rib roast or a rack of lamb, but, unlike beef and lamb, pork tends to be significantly cheaper. When butterflied, stuffed with an intensely aromatic filling, and rolled and tied back into its original shape, a stuffed and spiraled roast is just as regal as the others, making it perfect for entertaining at a fraction of the cost. 

At first glance stuffing a pork loin roast may seem like an intricate process: The raw roast needs to be filleted open like a book to an even thickness, seasoned and coated with an assertive filling (here I use a pancetta, garlic, rosemary, cherry, and caraway seeds), rolled back up, tied, and roasted. In reality, the cutting, seasoning, and tying are relatively easy tasks, with the whole process including roasting taking under two hours (not including an unattended dry-brining time). The result is a juicy aromatic roast featuring a deeply browned crust and flavor throughout.

How to Butterfly a Pork Loin

Arguably the most daunting part of this process is butterflying the loin. First, it’s worth noting you can ask your butcher to do this for you, but don’t have them tie it up since you need to season it at home first. That said, it’s a simple task to butterfly it yourself, and is well worth the time, creating lots of surface area for salting the meat and applying the filling.

The goal is to take the cylindrical loin and flatten it out into a rectangle that’s large and thin enough so that it can easily be rolled back into its original shape once filled, creating a spiraled interior. Just be careful not to cut it too thinly or the meat might tear. Butterflying the pork properly only requires 2 main knife cuts. Here’s the breakdown of the process.

1. Start with a sharp knife. I’m a broken record with this basic tip, but it really does need to be repeated! Simply using a very sharp knife is the most foolproof way to ensure effortless and accurate slicing of any meat. With a sharp knife, you don’t need to apply excessive force or pressure when slicing, minimizing any risk of a slip. Pork loin is lean, and pretty much free from any tough or fibrous connective tissue or fat pockets, so your knife should glide through the meat easily. I recommend using a boning knife, which has a long and thin blade that is easy to work through the meat. If you don’t have one, a sharp chef’s or slicing knife will also work well here.

2. Make the first cut. Set the pork fat cap side up; this prevents any risk of the slippery fat cap sliding around while slicing. Then, holding the knife parallel to and about a third the loin’s height up from the work surface, begin to slice parallel to the work surface through the roast, stopping 1/2 inch before cutting all the way through. Make sure to use long, sweeping slicing motions to cut through the meat. You shouldn’t be sawing the meat, which might cause unwanted shredding. 

It’s critical you stop 1/2 inch from the edge of the meat. If you slice any closer to the edge, you run the risk of cutting all the way through, and at that point there’s no turning back. Once this first cut is done, open up the flap, pressing down slightly to flatten.

4. Make the second cut. Ok, you now have the beginnings of a rectangle in front of you, where one side is twice as thick as the other. Next, make another horizontal cut into the thicker portion of roast, again stopping about 1/2 inch before the pork’s edge. Open up this flap. You now should have an evenly thick rectangle of pork in front of you.

5. Pound into an even thickness. At this stage, the butterflied pork should be relatively even in thickness. But, it’s likely that your cuts will not have been done with laser precision and some areas of the pork will be thicker than others. For easier rolling, and for consistent cooking, you want the pork to be as evenly thick as possible. So take the time to pound it lightly to further even it out (covering with a sheet of plastic can make this easier and avoid tearing, though it does waste the plastic).

The Filling

Now comes the fun part—once you’ve butterflied the pork loin, the trickiest part is over and you can focus on creating your filling.

The truth is you can stuff your pork roast with a thin layer of whatever you like—a fresh herb paste, thin slices of cheese and prosciutto, or apple chutney are all great options—but the filling will need to be spread into a thin enough layer to ensure that it doesn’t all get squished out when the loin is rolled back into its original shape for roasting. And since only a small amount of the filling needs to be used, it has to be assertive enough for its flavor to come through in every bite.

The filling I like best and use in this recipe is inspired by the Tuscan preparation of pork loin known as arista, meaning “the best,” where the meat is either stuffed or rubbed with an intense garlic and rosemary herb paste before it’s roasted. While I’ve seen many recipes that call for applying raw garlic and rosemary to the pork before roasting, I’ve found this often results in harsh flavors, especially in the case of a filling like this, in which it’s insulated from the level of direct heat that would mellow the garlic’’s raw flavor. To address this, I gently sauté the garlic and aromatics for the filling on the stovetop before rubbing them on the pork. On top of the classic garlic and rosemary pairing, I add a small amount of lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and caraway seeds (a personal favorite)—all assertive flavors that pair well with the pork. 

To boost richness and enhance the overall porky flavor for the lean loin, I process pancetta with the cooked garlic mixture, then work in dried cherries to echo the sweetness of the pork; the result is a chunky but spreadable paste. The filling isn’t completely smooth, it will still have noticeable chunks of cherry and rosemary bits in there, which add visual appeal. When sliced, every bite of the loin will have a small amount of this rich, garlicky, aromatic, and slightly sweet filling complementing the pork.

Roasting and Searing the Pork

The easiest, most reliable method for cooking this roast is the one we at Serious Eats use for so many other cuts of meat: the reverse sear. It works magic on prime rib and beef tenderloin, and it works just as well for pork, cooking the meat evenly throughout while ensuring a deeply roasted exterior. The idea is to start the roast in a low oven, gently cooking it all the way through to the center without overcooking the outer layers of meat, which is otherwise a big risk when you’re making large roasts. At the same time, that extended time in the low oven dries out the exterior of the meat, making it easy to brown it quickly yet deeply with high heat at the very end. It takes about two hours to get there, though it’s always a good idea to start checking early, just in case yours is progressing faster than that. (Make sure to use a good thermometer!)

To finish it off, just take the roast out to rest until you’re ready to eat (it should rest for at least 20 minutes, but it can sit for up to about an hour and still be warm enough to serve). Right before serving, give it a good hard sear in a skillet on the stovetop on all sides until it develops a crackling deep brown crust. At this point, do not tent the roast. This will only trap steam and soften the crust.

The Sauce

The roast is flavorful enough on its own that it doesn’t really need much in terms of a sauce, especially not a rich and heavy one. Instead I make a simple, bright, vinaigrette to serve with it, taking advantage of the filling I made earlier: Remember how I sautéed all of those aromatics for the filling? Well, it seemed practical to use the infused oil to whip up a quick vinaigrette with fresh lemon juice and parsley, and a bit of Dijon mustard to emulsify it. It’s simple to prepare and showcases the pork without overshadowing it.

This roast is easy enough for a Sunday family meal but elegant enough to impress guests. I recommend slicing it tableside so you can see your guests ohh and ahhh as the gorgeous spiraled slices of stuffed loin reveal themselves.

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