When I was a kid growing up in the last century (ahem…) we loved to watch a show called “The Brady Bunch”. After many years, the Bradys have been syndicated, remade into a movie or two, much admired and sadly, much maligned. But there are so many memorable episodes. One famous line that comes up in my house pretty often is “Pork Chops and Apple Sauce” which I believe was uttered by Peter who was imitating the great actor Humphrey Bogart, because he wanted to be cooler than he was as Peter Brady. Anyway, the proper pronunciation (in Bogart-ese) is “Pork Chopsh and Apple-Shaush”. My husband and I have quoted that phrase to my kids over and over, mostly to blank stares. And both of us were serve pork chops and apple sauce repeatedly while growing up. A marriage made in heaven those two, pork and apples.
Fast forward (another term from long ago – ha!) to today’s version – Pork Chops with spinach, sausage and dates! It really doesn’t get any better than this. Of course, we’ve upgraded the chops to a roast and threw in a magnificent sauce that you will no doubt want to put on everything you eat (seriously, good on everything!), so this juicy, succulent roast is worthy of a holiday dinner. No doubt.
The juxtaposition of the flavors of the mild, savory pork and the sweetness of the dates with the fresh burst of parsley and tangy, mustard-y sauce was divine.
I first saw this recipe prepared by Jeff Mauro on Food Network’s The Kitchen to the raves of all of the hosts. It was so beautifully presented I decided to make it for Easter Dinner this year. The key to ease of preparation, though, is to ask the butcher to prepare the roast for stuffing and rolling so you don’t have to, unless you are much more skilled with a knife and bone-in pork loin than I am. Otherwise, I include Jeff Mauro’s instructions in the recipe. But my local butcher did a perfect job.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the new Pork Chops and Apple Sauce in my house! Sorry Humphrey, or Peter, or whomever.
Enjoy!
Sausage and Spinach-Stuffed Bone-In Pork Loin
As seen on The Kitchen, Food Network. Recipe by Jeff Mauro
Ingredients
- 1 6-rib bone-in pork loin, chine bone removed. Ask butcher to cut the loin so it can be stuffed and rolled, jelly-roll style
- 1 c Fresh parsley leaves, plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 c Dates, pitted
- 2 tbsp. Olive oil
- 2 Cloves garlic
- 1 lb Sweet Italian sausage, browned and drained
- 2 c Baby spinach
- 2 tbsp. AP flour
- 1/2 c Dry white wine or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp. Stone-ground mustard
- 5-6 15" strands kitchen twine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500F.
- If you were not able to have a butcher prepare the loin for stuffing, the following are instructions from Jeff Mauro: " Place the pork loin bone-side down on a work surface. Insert the blade of a very sharp knife a log the rib bones and slice down but not all the way through (stop about an inch from the bottom). This will release the loin from the ribs. Open the meat up a bit, turn your life sideways and continue to slice through the meat, opening it up as it goes until you have a flat piece of pork (which will be rolled up bad to the bones once stuffed with filling). Gently pound until even. "
- Season all sides of pork with salt and pepper. In a food processor, create a paste by pulsing the parsley leaves, dates, olive oil and garlic cloves. Rub over the inside of the pork. Top the paste with the crumbled browned sausage, followed by the baby spinach.
- In order to best tie the roast, slice between each pair of bones about 2". This will be where you can slide the twine when you tie up the roast. This will keep it more compact.
- Starting at the end of the roast opposite the bones, tightly roll the roast. Tie the roast between each of the bones and around the rolled roast with kitchen twine. Tie tightly.
- Place the roast on a (preferably V-shaped) roasting rack and into a large roasting pan. Pour 2 c water into the pan to maintain moisture and catch any drippings. Roast 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325F. Roast until internal temperature of roast is 140F. For us this was an additional 60 minutes, but check temperature every 20 minutes, as all ovens are different.
- Place roast on a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing. While meat is resting, prepare sauce.
- Pour drippings into a measuring cup. Skim all but 2T fat from the drippings, and discard that excess fat, and return drippings to pan. (We had minimal drippings, so just left all of it in the pan since there was very little fat.) Place drippings in pan over medium heat on the stove. Whisk in the flour until smooth, scraping up bits from the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with wine or stock, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the mustard and simmer until thick, while continuously whisking, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Slice the pork between the bones. Plate with mustard sauce, or pass sauce at the table. Garnish with remaining parsley.
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