Stuffed Pork Loin

Stuffed Pork Loin is a juicy, flavorful, and thoroughly impressive main course. It might look intimidating, but don’t fret, it’s really quite simple! This tasty pork loin and stuffed with a flavorful mixture of mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and Gruyere cheese. Don’t forget to save the drippings from roasting the pork so you can make a delicious easy gravy!

This recipe will take your classic roasted pork loin to a whole new level!

Stuffed Pork Loin

It’s the holiday season! For so many of us, that means something huge – it’s the season of cooking, and baking, and then more cooking, and you guessed it… more baking. When you have family coming in town to stay with you, you’re going to want to serve up something hearty, delicious, and maybe even some brag-worthy recipes. Well, look no further, as this stuffed pork loin checks all of those boxes!

Tender, juicy pork loin is seasoned with the most delicious complimentary ingredients that help develop the natural flavors of the meat. As mouthwatering as the meat itself is, the real star of the show here is the mushroom filling. A beautiful medley of ingredients like shallots, fresh garlic, Gruyere cheese and more blend together to create the most unforgettably good stuffing.

To top it all off is the pork gravy, which is a cinch to make and impossible to resist. It’s made with the pan drippings from the roasted pork loin, so the flavors are wonderfully complimentary to the meat, as that’s where they originate. While it may seem easy enough to open up a packet of store-bought instant powder to make some quick gravy, I promise you this quick and easy homemade gravy is so much more flavorful than that stuff!

Ingredients for Stuffed Pork Loin

For Pork:

• Pork Loin – Make sure it’s boneless center-cut. Also, use pork loin, not pork tenderloin!
• Dijon Mustard – This cannot be substituted with yellow mustard!
• Salt – Use either coarse kosher or flaky sea salt.
• Black Pepper – Freshly ground black pepper will yield the best flavor.
• Garlic Powder – You can add a little extra if you’d like a more pronounced garlic flavor.

For Mushroom Filling:

• Shallots – The delicate sweetness in these onions is perfect for this filling.
• Garlic – If possible, use fresh garlic, not pre-minced.
• Mushrooms – I like to use a mix of different mushrooms, like cremini, shiitake, white, etc.
• Gruyere Cheese – Make sure it’s freshly grated for the best results.
• Thyme – Use dried, or double amount for fresh thyme.
• Salt
• Black Pepper

For Pork Gravy:

• Butter – Use unsalted butter to avoid too much sodium in the gravy.
• Flour – I use all-purpose flour, but gluten free flour can be used if needed.
• Pan Drippings – Remember to strain the dripping, that way your gravy will be nice and smooth.
• Chicken Stock – For the most flavorful results, consider using some Homemade Chicken Stock!
• Black Pepper
• Salt

What cut of pork do I need to get?

For stuffed pork loin, you want to get a boneless center-cut pork roast. When choosing your meat, look for a loin roast that’s pinkish-red in color with some marbling in the meat and a fat cap on top. A fat cap is usually trimmed down, but sometimes you can find it intact. If the fat cap is left on, it will actually make a juicier roast and you can score it to get your seasonings through.

As for the size, try to find a pork loin around 4 lbs. It’s great for a dinner party or as a holiday main dish to feed 8 people. If you need to feed a larger crowd, you can get a larger cut, but you will rarely find a boneless pork loin roast larger than 5-6 lbs.

How to Cut Pork Loin to be Stuffed

Place the pork loin on a large cutting board vertically, fat cap up. Using a long, sharp knife, start cutting along the side of the meat, right where the fat cap ends, cutting in about 1/2 inch deep. Cut through a couple of inches of meat and then gently pull away the uncut part to kind of “unroll”.

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Keep cutting along and “unrolling” the meat, keeping the flat, cut part at about 1/2 inch thickness. Eventually, you’ll end up with a flat rectangle of pork that’s ready for stuffing.

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To even out some of the parts where it is a little thicker, cover the pork with a large piece of plastic wrap and then use a flat side of the meat tenderizer to pound it. You’re not looking to make it thin, you just want to make the pork uniform thickness of about 1/2 inches throughout the rectangle.

How to Make Stuffed Pork Loin

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Start off by preparing the stuffing.

Heat up a pan with some olive oil. Sauté garlic and shallots, then stir in the diced mushrooms and seasonings to the pan. Once the mushrooms are completely done, transfer them to a mixing bowl and mix them with grated Gruyere cheese.

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Stuffing and cooking pork loin:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your roasting pan with aluminum foil.

Season the inside of the meat with salt and pepper, then spread the Dijon mustard and mushroom filling evenly over the pork. Starting at the left side, roll up the pork!

Use twine to tie the loin before seasoning it with some seasonings on all four sides. Once seasoned, place the tied pork loin onto the rack in the roasting pan. Cook until the inside of the meat reaches 140°F.

Tent the meat with foil, and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then, cut the twine and let it rest another 10 before serving.

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Last but certainly not least, let’s make the gravy!

Melt the butter in a pan, then quickly whisk in flour until smooth. While still whisking, pour in the pan drippings and chicken stock. Add salt and pepper as needed. Keep stirring until the gravy is smooth and thick!

Tips for the Best Stuffed Pork Loin

• Make sure you get pork loin, not Pork Tenderloin. Those are completely different meats and require a different cooking time and temperature.
• Choose a good cut of meat that is a nice pinkish color with some fat on top. If the fat was trimmed off, make sure there is still some of it on or you will have a dry pork loin.
• If the fat cap was left on completely, score it with a sharp knife, creating a diamond pattern to let the seasonings get through.
• Rest the cold pork loin on the counter before preparing it to let it warm up for 30-45 minutes. You don’t want to introduce cold meat to high heat or it will seize and result in dry texture.
• Make sure to tie the pork loin to keep its shape and to keep the filling intact.
• It’s always best to track the internal temperature of the meat with a thermometer rather than looking at a time! Time can’t tell you if the meat is done since every cut is different in it’s own little ways. Use an instant read, leave-in meat thermometer to track the temperatures of your pork loin.
• Don’t forget to rest the pork loin before and after taking off the kitchen twine! This will give the juices that were condensed during cooking a chance to spread back throughout the meat tissue.

When is pork loin done cooking?

Pork is done at 145°F internal temperature. The best way to measure when the pork is done is to use a meat thermometer and take the temperature in the center of the meat. When done, pork will be tender, juicy, and slightly pink in the center. Don’t be afraid of the pink! A little it of pink in the very center is perfectly alright in pork.

Make all kinds of pork entrees this holiday season!

Pork Cutlets – they are made with the delicate pork tenderloin coated in a delicious parmesan Panko breading, and of course, a hint of Dijon mustard that goes perfectly with pork

Apple Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops – filled with a flavorful mixture of honeycrisp apples, bacon, shallots, and smoked cheddar cheese

Pot Roasted Pork Loin – this pork loin roasted in the oven will give you the best tender, juicy and delicious pork

Perfect Pork Loin – This juicy and tender pork loin is baked on a bed of veggies for extra flavor and moisture, stuffed with garlic cloves, and rubbed with an herb mixture.

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