How To Grill An Herb Stuffed Pork Loin

pork roast

Grilling season is in full force and Father’s Day is just around the corner and so you might be thinking of something special to make, may I suggest grilling a pork loin. A pork loin is excellent to make on the grill if you’re having a small or large group, you can feed a crowd with a pork roast being the main course and then just  have some wonderful side dishes to serve along side it.

A pork loin has a much richer flavor because of the marbling throughout, as opposed to a very lean pork tenderloin.

A grilled pork loin that’s smothered with fresh herbs inside and out is easier than you think to make, plus it can be stuffed, rolled and tied a day ahead or hours before which makes for a stress free day of entertaining.

grilled pork roast

 

Ask your butcher what size roast you should get according to the amount of people that you’ll will be serving. Look for a pinkish red color when picking your fresh roast and one with some marbling, because as we know, fat = flavor.

herb paste

I used three herbs for my rub, sage, rosemary and thyme along with garlic and olive oil of course!

herb filled pork roast

If you have a smaller roast, two to three pounds, you can cut it down the center, lengthwise with a sharp knife, being very careful not to go all the way and cut through the bottom, then gently open it up like a book.

Cover the meat with plastic wrap and beat it all over with a meat mallet until it’s about a half inch thickness. If you have a larger roast, four to five pounds, you’ll have to be a little more precise in opening it up.  Here’s a good visual for details on the cutting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2Vl78vJMJ8

rolled and tied pork roast

It’s best to get the roast all prepped and ready for the grill ahead of time so all the flavors can marinate together as it sits in the fridge.

 

herb filled roastgrilled roast

The smell when it’s grilling is out of this world, your neighbors will be so jealous!

grilled pork roast

Each bite is jam packed with flavor and the pork retains all it’s juices.

Happy Grilling!

How To Grill An Herb Stuffed Pork Loin
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 lb. fresh pork loin
  • meat mallet
  • butchers twine
  • a small handful each of rosemary, sage and thyme plus extra branches for decorating the roast, and your platter.
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. To Make your herb paste:
  2. On a cutting board or a small food processor place the herbs, garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Chop or pulsing the herb mix then drizzle in some olive until the mixture becomes a loose paste, set aside.
  4. To open up the pork loin take a sharp knife and cut down the center, being care not to cut all the way through.
  5. Open the roast up like you do a book.
  6. (If roast is bigger, refer to the youtube link I provided in the post, and double the herb mixture.)
  7. Lay some plastic wrap on top of opened meat.
  8. Take your meat mallet and pound all over the surface, you want it to be about a half inch thick all around.
  9. Remove plastic wrap and smear all over the surface, reserving enough for the outside of the roast.
  10. Have your butchers twine cut and ready to tie the meat
  11. Now roll up the meat as close and tight as you can and secure it with the twine in 2 inch intervals.
  12. Rub the outside all over with remaining herb mixture and add a branch of each herb under one tie.
  13. At this point you can place in a fridge overnight or you can place in fridge for a couple of hours before grilling, you want the flavors to mingle for a while.
  14. FOR A GAS GRILL
  15. Take roast out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before grilling.
  16. Sear both sides on a medium high flame for a few minutes then lower it down to medium, around 350 until internal temp reaches 140. You will have to move it from time to time checking it and watching your temp but other than that it's hands free, and of course cover your grill.
  17. Remove roast and let it rest under loose foil for 15 minutes.
  18. Cut the twine off and it's ready to slice!

 

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Grilled Pork Loin with Tuscan Herbs

We often cook a pork roast on the grill, I’ve made so many different versions of it but my favorite way is to slice it open and stuff it with herbs. I have to admit I never have been good at opening one up properly, I would usually have one side thicker than the other. It wasn’t until I saw this video that it finally clicked and I got it! Please go and check it out, it’s so easy to do and the end result will be a perfect spiral of herbs.

Speaking of herbs, I was inspired to make my own tuscan herb mix after recently reading Judy’s post on porchetta, she spoke about how the butchers at the Central Market in San Lorenzo Tuscany each have their own personal herbal mix that they use for their porchetta usually consisting of a blend of sage, rosemary and salt with some adding in black pepper and fennel. She had a link on her blog which showed her version, and as I was reading it she also linked to David Lebovitz who made his own version as well.

 

This is a terrific way to use up all your herbs, I happen to have a ton of sage growing and I never know what to do with it, I almost feel guilty just letting it go. I can’t explain how good this mix is I can’t wait to make more my stash is getting low and now I’ve become obsessed with it!
There’s no real recipe here, it’s impossible to be exact, but I took Davids advice using 3 parts sage to one part rosemary, 8 cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of salt, I also added lots of black pepper and crushed fennel seeds to mine. The hardest part is picking all the leaves off the rosemary and sage branches, it’s time consuming but I did it while I was watching TV and the time went by fast, after that it was a piece of cake! I placed everything into my food processor and pulsed it a few times being careful not to liquefy the mix, then spread it out on a large baking sheet to dry for 3 days.

All the flavors intensify, its the perfect complement to grilled or roasted meats and vegetables.
Figs always go well with pork so I decided to make a very quick Fig and Rosemary Spread using 1lb of dried mission figs** 2tbl of fresh chopped rosemary** zest of 1 orange**1 cup of orange juice**1tbl honey**1/2 cup water**salt and pepper. Place everything in a covered saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil then simmer about 30 minutes until thick. Strain and reserve liquid, if needed add additional water to the fig liquid to total 3/4 cup. Put fig mixture into a food processor and process until smooth. Store the fig spread in an airtight container, refrigerated. Recipe from Savory Baking

So if you find yourself with leftover pork roast, change it up and make this panini! Crusty bread layered with herby pork, fig, spicy arugula and roasted red pepper, crispy and warm, oozing with fontina cheese! Need I say more??

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and emails I received for my blogiversay, I really appreciated each and every one!  
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