BACON WRAPPED STUFFED PORK LOIN

Are you hungry? This is a fun recipe that was created on the Mad Meat Genius fly. I am sure it has been done before and if you follow sound cooking techniques and use quality ingredients you will have success too. We are working with an inexpensive pork loin that has been butterflied, briefly brined and then stuffed with three types of mushrooms, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese. The stuffed meat roll is then wrapped in a weave of bacon and cooked in a covered kettle bbq. Let’s cook dinner.

We will start with the pork loin. The loin is approx 3 pounds. Most of the visible fat is trimmed with a sharp boning knife. With the same knife the roast is butterflied. Do not be intimidated by this process because in the end it is all rolled up and any goof-ups will be covered with bacon. Slice the length about 1/3 down the diameter length of the roll and slowly draw your knife to cut almost through. Turn your roast over and slice down the other 2/3. Place on a cutting board and flatten down any unevenness with a mallet, back of your knife or even your hand. The next step is a quick easy brine.

• 1/4 cup salt
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 cups of water 

Bring mixture to a boil and let cool. When cool place in container and add meat. Add more water to cover meat. Let rest in refrigerator for 3-6 hours. Remove from container and rinse with cool water. Dry off roast. It is time to work on the stuffing.

• ½ pd. button mushrooms chopped
• ½ pd. Portabella mushrooms gills removed and chopped.
• 2 Tablespoons dried mushrooms chopped. (Re-hydrate mushrooms in warm water before chopping)
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs (make your own bread crumbs by toasting some bread and using your food processor)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

Sauté the 3 mushrooms and garlic in butter until mushrooms loose some moisture approx 7 minutes. Season with salt & pepper and turn off the heat. Add your breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and let mixture cool to room temperature.

It is time to assemble. Place your butterflied, brined meat on a sheet of wax paper. Spread cooled mushroom mixture evenly over meat. Roll the meat like a Christmas log. Use the wax paper to help you roll it firm but not tight. Wrap the roll in the wax paper and refrigerator for an hour. This will help firm up the roll. I make a bacon weave while I am waiting and place it in the refrigerator also to firm. Take meat roll out of refrigerator and place in center of bacon weave seam side up. Turn meat roll over and tie strings to secure.

You could cook this in the oven but why not fire up the bbq in the middle of winter? We built an indirect fire. This was achieved by banking approx 30 lit charcoal briquettes on each side with a drip pan in the center. Place bacon wrapped meat roll on center of a well-oiled grill grate and cover with kettle lid. Cook for almost an hour or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Remove roast for the very important resting time of 15 minutes.

Slice with a serrated knife. I guarantee you will impress with this Mad Meat Genius creation. Cooking in the bbq adds that certain flavor that we love. The pork loin was tender and juicy. We are sold on the brining technique. The filling was rich and decadent. This is a recipe that we are glad to share. I am looking forward to the leftovers tonight. Have fun.