Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin

How to make the best cranberry and apricot stuffed pork tenderloin - This recipe is baked in the oven and easy to prepare. Simple roast dinner.

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We used to have big Christmas dinners at Old Grandma's house. The whole family would gather there and spread out a huge buffet on Grandma's old chest freezer, and the kitchen table even with all of its leaves added wasn't big enough to hold all of us. She set up the card table as a kids' table in the living room.

The last couple of times that we had a big Christmas feast, my older sister made this stuffed pork roast for Christmas dinner. I didn't know if I would like it since I don't love dried fruit, but I thought it was splendid.

Let me be honest for a second. This is not an easy meal to prepare. Well, I guess it is easy enough but it has a lot of steps. This isn't really an every day after work kind of meal. It's more of a special occasions only kind of meal.

But that's what makes it so good - you won't have it often but everyone will look forward to it.

How to make apricot stuffed pork loin

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat to 250º.
2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add 12 whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
3. Turn pork loin fat side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through, to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch unslit edge at each end. Brush meat cavity with some of the reserved garlic oil and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of rosemary. Line cavity with sautéed garlic and apricots, sprinkle with cranberries. Tie loin back together at 1-½-inch intervals.
4. Brush meat with remaining garlic oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, diagonally across a sheet pan.
5. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with pressed garlic and remaining rosemary. Brush mixture onto meat.
6. Roast pork for approximately 1-½ hours, until a meat thermometer stuck in the center reads 125º to 130º.
7. Remove roast from the oven; raise temperature to 400. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven, and continue to cook until a meat thermometer in the center reads 155º to 160º, approximately 20 minutes more. For even more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes before transferring to a carving board. Stir juices in pan to loosen brown bits. Mix chicken broth with cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour drippings through a strainer into a small pan, and stir in alcohol, chicken broth with cornstarch, and remaining 2 tablespoons of apple jelly. Whisk into sauce and simmer until slightly thickened.
9. Slice pork. Serve each slice with sauce poured over the top.

Recipe

Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin

How to make the best cranberry and apricot stuffed pork tenderloin - This recipe is baked in the oven and easy to prepare. Simple roast dinner.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Servings 16 people

Calories 236 kcal

Equipment

• Garlic press
• Cooking twine
• Baking sheet
• Carving board
• Strainer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 14 garlic cloves divided, some will be used whole
• 4 pounds whole boneless pork loin patted dry, at room temperature
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary minced, divided, snip with scissors
• 16 dried apricots or similar amount of your favorite dried fruit
• ⅓ cups dried cranberries
• 6 tablespoons apple jelly divided
• ½ cups port wine or white rum
• ½ cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

 

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees.
• Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add 12 whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
• Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite the whole way through, to form a long pocket, leaving a ½ inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary. Line cavity with sautéed garlic and apricots; sprinkle with cranberries. Tie loin together with cooking twine at 1 ½ inch intervals.
• Brush meat with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat-side up, diagonally across a large sheet pan.
• Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the pressed garlic and rosemary. Brush mixture onto meat.
• Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125 to 130 degrees. (Start checking at about 1 ½ hours.)
• Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven, and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155 to 160 degrees, about 20 minutes longer. For even more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits. Mix chicken broth with cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour drippings through a strainer into a small pan, and stir in alcohol, chicken broth with cornstarch and remaining 2 Tbs. of jelly; whisk into sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened.
• Slice pork. Serve each slice with sauce poured on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 539mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 296IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

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