INGREDIENTS
1 pound mild Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tart apple, peeled and diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 cups Italian bread crumbs
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
1 3.5 lb boneless pork loin
In a large saute pan over medium heat, saute the sausage until no longer pink. Remove the sausage (leave in the fat), and set aside. To the pan, add the onion, celery, and apple and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until the apple is no longer crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional couple of minutes. Remove from the heat, stir the sausage back in and set aside.
Heat the butter in a medium saute pan and cook the crumbs over medium-high heat until coated with butter and lightly toasted, about 3 minutes (be careful not to burn). Add sage, thyme, and rosemary. Mix the breadcrumbs into the sausage mixture.
Prepare the roast as if making a jellyroll. Use a sharp knife to slice the roast open at about 1/2-inch from the bottom of the roast (parallel to the cutting board), being careful not to cut all the way through. Continue cutting, unrolling the roast as you work until you have a large, thin piece of meat.
Salt and pepper the pork and top with the filling, spreading evenly across the pork, leaving a 1-inch margin around the perimeter.
Starting with the short side, roll up tightly jellyroll style (I could have rolled it up tighter, but it worked fine), and secure the roast with kitchen twine. I sprinkled with Legend Kansas City Style rub, but a garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper rub would work very well. And this is what I'd use next time.
Threw the pork loin into a 235* preheated smoker and used 2 chunks of apple wood. Bake until the internal temperature hits 145 degrees (roughly 3 hrs.). Remove the roast from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
It turned out very flavorful. Nice light smoke flavor, moist, tender. Stuffing tasted very good...mild sausage and apple predominant. Nice complitmentary contrast pork to stuffing.
Photos are a little blurry, but I used my IPhone.
