This Stuffed Pork Tenderloin is a flavorful and delicious main course perfect for holiday dinners and celebrations. This tenderloin is stuffed with apricots and prunes, coated with herbs and orange juice. It’s a surefire hit for any occasion.
This baked pork stuffed tenderloin recipe is melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy with buttery and fruity flavor which is a unique way to cook pork you might have thought of. It is company pleasing and holiday worthy but family friendly and everyday easy! It takes around 60-70 minutes from start to finish and MOST of that time is hand’s off!
This scrumptious stuffed pork tenderloin is an easy and inexpensive way to feed a crowd and perfect for holiday dinners.
We also love that pork reheats well, you will love serving this stuffed pork tenderloin for special occasions like Christmas dinners.
Check out my other popular holiday dinner recipe which looks even more fancier yet easy to make – Beef Wellington.
Pork tenderloin is one of the most tender proteins and it boasts fabulous flavor as well. And did you know pork tenderloin is extremely low in fat – about as lean as skinless chicken breasts! It is also extremely easy to cook, relatively quick to cook and the leftovers don’t dry out! There are just SO many reasons to love succulent stuffed pork tenderloin.
You will need 2.2 lbs pound pork tenderloin for this recipe. You can buy pork tenderloin just about anywhere, I prefer to buy from Costco. They sell a pack of 4 for about $15-$20 which I presume to reasonable. It is pricier than chicken, but still a fabulous price to feed the entire family a restaurant worthy dinner.
Pork Tenderloin is almost always sold in individual packages with two tenderloins per package. Each tenderloin weighs roughly 1-1 ½ pounds. I can eat half of one pork tenderloin in one sitting – when it’s this baked pork tenderloin recipe, so my pork tenderloin recipes always use both the pork tenderloins in one package.
How to make Stuffed Pork Tenderloin…
Serves: 8
Prep: overnight + 10 minus
Cook: 65 mins
Recipe Keys: Gluten free, Dairy free, Low carb, Meal prep friendly, High protein
NOTE: Before you make this recipe, it’s important you purchase pork tenderloin and NOT pork loin – they are not the same. If you use pork loin, your pork won’t be dome cooking in the allotted time or emerge as tender and juicy.
Also you will want to look for pork tenderloin that is NOT packaged in a rub or marinade, as we are going to brine and season the meat ourselves. This way, you not only control the flavor, but you can control the amount of salt and eliminate the oil in the marinade.
What you need…
- 2.2 lbs. (1kg) pork tenderloin
- 2 tbsp. of salt
- 1/3 cup (40g) dried apricots and prunes
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2/3 cup (160ml) vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 orange, juiced
- 4 cloves garlic
What you need to do…
- Wash the pork and place it in a container. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and cover with cold water, stir until the salt dissolves. Cover the dish and place it in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 360F (180C). Remove the meat from the brine, dry it and use a narrow, sharp knife to punch through the center of the meat to create a tunnel. Stuff the pork with the apricots and prunes, pushing the fruits in through the slit made with the knife.
- Season the pork with the spices and herbs (thyme, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt and turmeric), and rub with the olive oil. Place in a hot frying pan and fry on each side for a few minutes.
- Place the prepared pork into an ovenproof dish and pour in the orange juice and stock. Add in the garlic and cover tightly with kitchen foil. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove the pork from the oven and take off the kitchen foil. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the garlic from the leftover stock, transfer the stock into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the honey and potato starch, simmer gently, stirring often, for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve the sauce along with the pork.
Do you need to remove the silverskin before cookin?
Always remove the silver skin or the white fibrous layer. The silverskin is part of a sinew on one side of the pork and looks like thin, silvery fat. This silver skin does not break down while cooking and ends up being chewy and tough. To remove Silver skin from Pork Tenderloin by sliding a knife under the silver skin and running it in one direction just under the silver skin, being careful not to trim away meat. Many packages of pork tenderloin, however, will come pre-trimmed and ready to go.
Leftovers?
You can reheat in an oven just lightly brush with oil of your choice or rub it with softened butter, cover it with a foil. This way after reheating this will not come out dry.
Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
With a few steps and a sharp knife, making Stuffed Pork Tenderloin is easy and delicious. This tender cut of pork is such a great option when making any stuffed dish. In this recipe I have stuffed it with prunes and apricots which gives this tender piece of meat a sweet and savory flavor.
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs (1kg) pork tenderloin
- 2 tbsp. of salt
- 1/3 cup (40g) dried apricots and prunes
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2/3 cup (160ml) vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 orange, juiced
- 4 cloves garlic
For the sauce
- 1 tsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. potato starch
Instructions
- Wash the pork and place it in a container. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and cover with cold water, stir until the salt dissolves. Cover the dish and place it in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 360F(180C). Remove the meat from the brine, dry it and use a narrow, sharp knife to punch through the center of the meat to create to tunnel. Stuff the pork with the apricots and prunes, pushing the fruits in through the slit made with the knife.
- Season the pork with the spices and herbs (thyme, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt and turmeric), and rub with the olive oil. Place in a hot frying pan and fry on each side for a few minutes.
- Place the prepared pork into an ovenproof dish and pour in the orange juice and stock. Add in the garlic and cover tightly with kitchen foil. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove the pork from the oven and take off the kitchen foil. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the garlic from the leftover stock, transfer the stock into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the honey and potato starch, simmer gently, string often, for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve the sauce along with the pork.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 279Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 2079mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 27g
I hope this juicy stuffed pork tenderloin becomes a new favorite for you!