Pork Tenderloin Apple Roulade
There are so many easy ways to make juicy pork tenderloin. One way to butterfly it, hammer it flat, put down a layer of filling, and roll it up. It roasts nicely in the oven, the outside comes out crispy, inside is cooked and flavorful, and if you follow instructions - the meat is not overcooked. If you are worried about the meat coming out dry, brine it ahead of time. It is more important to brine meat if you are roasting/grilling it whole. When you butterfly and hammer out the meat, moisture retention is less important, because the filling will have some moisture content to help balance out the overall feel of the meat.When you decide to stuff your pork, you need to think about your ingredients and how they will cook together. Ingredients that separate when cooked are a bad idea (cheddar cheese). since you are working with pork, you can get away with fruit based stuffings, as well as savory stuffings. Apples and apricots go well with pork. you often hear of people eating applesauce with their pork, or serving pork chops with an apple and bread dressing. This dates back to pre-supermarket availability. The livestock was killed in the fall, and it was served with locally available ingredients. Apples were harvested the same time the animals were 'harvested'. I personally like the balance of apples and pork, so this was the basis of my dish.
I wanted the sweetness and tartness from the apples in my dish, but I also wanted a touch of spice and savory feel for the entire dish. I've had pork that tasted like it was bathed in candy, I wanted this dish to have the apple flavor, but not be overpowered by the sweetness of the apples. I off-set the sweetness with shallots, black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger, and aniseed. No - there was no licorice flavor in the dish. The aniseed mingled well with the ginger and made the dish quite spicy.
I coupled this with tart and spicy mashed butternut squash. I wanted to balance out the four S's for this dish. I steamed the butternut squash, then I mashed it with some sour cherry preserves from a local farm. To finish off this side, I added a few drops of Tabasco Sauce and a little salt. I plated it with some finishing black sea salt. The larger salt crystals provided a nice crunch, and a little burst of flavor.
Pork Tenderloin Apple Roulade
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 1 granny smith apple
- 1 honeycrisp apple (you can use any red apple variant here)
- 2 small shallots
- 2 tsp fresh peeled ginger
- 1 tsp aniseed
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt
- pepper
- Canola oil
Prepare the filling first. chop the apples into little bits - avoid the cores, but leave the skins. Dice the shallots and ginger, mix in with the apples. Add the spices, a little salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.
Pat the tenderloin dry and butterfly the tenderloin. Lay the tenderloin between two sheets of plastic wrap and hammer it flat with a meat tenderizer - you are aiming for 1/4 inch think. Spread the apple mixture across the cut side of the tenderloin. Roll up and place the seam on the work surface. Spray a wire rack with non stick spray and place in a baking sheet with raised edges. Line the bottom of the pan with aluminium foil for easy cleanup. Coat the pork with oil with one hand, use your other hand to salt and pepper the outside.
If you are only roasting one (Convection Roast - 450 degrees) - it should be done in 20 minutes (145 degrees). Remove the pork and tent with foil for 5 minutes. The carryover cooking will raise the temperature to 150 degrees. Slice the pork into 1/2 inch slices at an angle.
If you are cooking two - rotate the pork halfway through cooking.
Spicy Mashed Butternut Squash
- 1 Butternut Squash
- Salt 1 tsp
- Pepper 1 tsp
- Tabasco sauce
- Sour cherry preserves - 1/2 cup
- Finishing Salt
Fill a large pot with enough water to almost touch your steaming tray, Bring the pot to a simmer.
Prepare the butternut squash. There are many different ways to do this - I should write a post about this. In the end, you want to have cubes of raw squash 1 inch by 1 inch square (no rind). Place the squash on the steaming tray and steam for 30 minutes. Remove the squash from the steamer and place into a bowl. Add the other ingredients and mash with a potato masher. Plate and finish with the black sea salt.
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