Stuffed Pork Loin Roast with Smoked Tea Rub
In our everyday quest to eat lean, clean and healthy, pork may sometimes get a bad rap. However, pork cut from the loin as in tenderloin, loin chops, loin roast, cutlets and loin rib chops can be lean as well as flavorful and tender.
We chose a loin roast that was cut and the bone removed. If the roast is 'bone in' you can ask the butcher to remove it for you. A roast is generally 3-4 lbs and can feed 12 people or at least give you a lot of leftovers. A tenderloin (1-2 lbs) that is cut and rolled would work nicely too. This video demonstrates how to cut, roll and tie a roast or tenderloin with stuffing.
When we first decided to make this recipe, we had no idea how the the Smoked Tea Rub would taste with pork. This was because the concept of flavoring meat with smoked tea is a little out of the ordinary. But when we tried the finished product we were absolutely blown away with the flavor. Within a week of creating this blend we have had interest from local chefs and upscale restaurants trying to get their hands on this blend for their Spring menus.
Our Smoked Tea Rub is hand blended from granulated molasses, sea salt, Lapsong Souchong tea, demerara sugar, sesame seeds, paprika, garlic, black pepper, fennel, rosemary and marjoram and infuses a rich deep sweetness with strong but not overpowering smokiness and subtle herby notes to this dish.
- 3-4 LB pork loin roast
- 3 Tablespoons Smoked Tea Rub, divided
- 2 oz Dried Porchini Mushrooms
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 8 oz brussel sprouts, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- In a bowl, add Dried Porchini Mushrooms and cover with warm water.
- Let mushrooms sit in the water for about 5 minutes or until they soften.
- Drain the mushrooms and save the soaking liquid.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil to medium high heat.
- Add butter and stir to melt.
- Add onions and brussel sprouts, reduce heat to medium and cook onions for 30-45 minutes, stirring often until vegetables are very soft and dark brown.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar to the onions and stir to combine.
- Add the drained Porchini Mushrooms and continue cooking until mixture is warm.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.
- Butterfly the pork roast (click here to see a video demonstration).
- Stuff the roast with between 1/2 and 2/3 of the onion mixture. Reserve the remaining mixture to use in the gravy.
- Roll and tie the pork to prepare for roasting.
- Generously rub 2 Teaspoons Smoked Tea Rub all over the rolled meat, covering all exposed meat, including the ends.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Transfer prepared pork to a baking dish and roast uncovered for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until internal temperature of meat registers 165 - 170 degrees.
- Tent the roast with foil and cook an additional 15 minutes until internal temperature of meat registers 175-185 degrees.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 cup of reserved mushroom liquid (add more water if you don't have 1 cup of liquid).
- Bring the onion mixture back to medium high heat in a large pan and add any dripping from the roasting pan.
- Add the mushroom broth and simmer about 5 minutes or until gravy starts to thicken and coats the back of a spoon.
- Slice pork and serve with gravy.
