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Let me tell you a little something about pork roast.
First up, its maybe my new favorite cut of meat to serve a crowd.
I know that might sound odd, but hear me out. Over Thanksgiving I bought a beef roast to feed twelve people and it was $135. Granted I did buy it at Whole Foods, but um, whoa! Why such a fancy meal for a such big crowd? Hello, I had to please Kai for his 20th birthday! It was three nights of all his favorite foods + a BIG Thanksgiving dinner.
Really, I would be the bestest girlfriend to a guy who loves food.
Seriously.
ANYWAY, the next night I bought this pork loin roast for…$7. YES! Count me in – all guests coming for Christmas, expect some pork!
Just sayin.
OKAY. I will definitely be doing beef as well, cause that has ALWAYS been our Christmas Eve dinner, but for many of the other nights I’m thinking pork… tacos, sammies, chops, soup and of course this roast.
I will not lie, when I set out to make this recipe I was a little scared. I had never rolled and stuffed meat like this. FYI, I watched a whole slew of YouTube videos (yes, I am just like you and watch YouTube videos to learn new skills) before even attempting to test out this recipe.
Good things happened and no disasters to report!
Pat on the back, double fist pump.
Let’s start out by saying, I know this seems scary, stuffing a pork roast I mean. Let’s follow that up with, DO NOT be scared. I was shocked at just how easy this whole process was. Like you can do this.
You literally just make a few slices in the meat and it kind of rolls out into a flat piece for you. Almost magically, but then not really. From there you just add the wild rice, roll, secure with kitchen twine and roast.
Pretty simple, but yet super elegant, right?!?
Soo let’s talk about that wild rice though. It’s filled with bacon…and mushrooms, which is maybe the best combo ever. The bacon drippings act as the dressing creating awesome flavor. AND there’s also some roasted pistachios and feta happening too. YUM. It’s kind of the perfect thing to get rolled up into a pork, which then gets covered in a pineapple glaze…
That pineapple glaze, that glaze is my world at the moment. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of pineapple (I buy a minimum of two a week), so obviously, this is my kind of meal!
You can kind of think of this meal as being similar to a pineapple glazed holiday ham. But instead of a ham, it’s pork loin roast, and instead of ALL meat, there are carbs rolled up in there.
Because for as much as I love pineapple, I equally love carbs. <–truth.
The best part about this recipe is that it’s easy enough to make on a weeknight (but you do need to have some time since it does take a while for the pork and rice to cook), but fancy enough to serve at any Christmas party. You can even prep the roast ahead of time and then just roast it before your guests arrive.
And did I mention… it’s a pretty dang cheap meal? For some reason that’s a big selling factor to me, I mean delicious AND inexpensive, wow! Bigger selling factor though is that pineapple glaze. I am totally all about this recipe because of the glaze. Can’t get enough.
Most random SIDE NOTE: is anyone else stressing a bit about Christmas shopping?!? I totally blew it with cyber Monday and did zero shopping. Now I have to buy full-price and get it all here in time too. Oh boy, oh boy. I am both stressing and excited at the same time. Stressing cause I have zero time to actually shop, but excited because I LOVE Christmas shopping. Finding people the best gifts is my favorite! 🙂
So what do you think?? Wild rice, bacon, feta, mushrooms?? Inside a moist pineapple glazed pork?!?!?
Can we all make this Pineapple Glazed Pork Roast now??
Like right NOW, it will make for a fancy little Thursday night dinner?!? Perfect for December!
YES, LETS DO IT!
Pineapple Glazed Pork Roast with Bacon Wild Rice Stuffing.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 738 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 slices thick cut bacon chopped
- 8 ounces button mushrooms sliced
- 10 ounces fresh or frozen spinach thawed if frozen
- 1 cup roasted pistachios
- 8 ounces feta cheese crumbled
- 1 pound pork loin roast 2 1/2
- 1/2 cup grainy mustard
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 cups medium pineapple peeled, cored + diced, about 5
- 1 medium delicata squash halved, deseeded + sliced into half moons
Instructions
- Cook the wild rice according to package directions. I brought 4 cups water to a boil, added the rice and simmered, covered for 45 minutes until the rice was fluffy and the water absorbed.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat begins to render, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the bacon crisps, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the spinach. Allow the spinach to wilt into the bacon mushroom mixture.
- Once the rice is cooked, stir in the bacon mixture + all the drippings from the pan. Stir in the pistachios and then crumble in the feta. Season the rice with salt + pepper.
- Place pork, fat side down, on work surface with 1 short end facing you. Using long thin sharp knife and starting 1/2 inch above underside of roast, cut 1/2 inch in along right side. Continue cutting 1/2 inch above underside, unrolling roast like carpet. I found [this how-to | http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/how-to-trim-stuff-and-roll-the-pork-loin-that-s-on-our-october-cover] really helpful.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven.
- Once your pork roast is in a flat piece, use a meat mallet to pound the pork so that most of the meat is in one even layer.
- Spread about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the wild rice over the pork.
- Roll up pork; arrange seam side down on work surface (fat side will be facing up). Using kitchen string, tie at 1- to 1 1/2-inch intervals. Transfer pork, fat side up, to roasting pan. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Rub the pork all over with the mustard and then sprinkle on the brown sugar + cayenne. Add the pineapple.
- Roast pork for 25 minutes at 425 degrees F. Add the squash rounds and reduce the oven temperature to 375. Continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loin registers 140-160 degrees F. (it will be cooked medium but still slightly pink), about 35-50 minutes. Let the roast rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Serve the pork along side the remaining rice + roasted squash and pomegranate arils (if desired).
Notes
Pineapple glaze adapted from Better Home and Garden December 2015 Issue.
Really, do it. Seriously. Doesn’t that just look perfect?!? 🙂
First off — It is still Cyber Monday deals week at Amazon.com! Git it, girl!
Secondly, I think I may make this roast for my family’s Christmas dinner. Looks AMAZING.
Thirdly, my boyfriend is allergic to all nuts but pecans and almonds, so I wonder if I could do toasted pecans in the stuffing instead of the pistachios. What do you think?
Now this is the way to do pork roast! Love that pineapple glaze and the wild rice stuffing sounds so good!
Oh. my. word. This looks amazing! Love that pineapple glaze to give the dish a sweet little zing!
Looks delicious!
I will make it for my holiday party with my friends. I may change a little bit using as a glaze a Roasted Pineapple Habanero Sauce that I have. Thanks so much for the recipe and I really love your photos.
I would have never thought to put pineapple and pork together! What a clever combination! This look so delicious! And yeah I am frantically trying to do Christmas shopping right now and shooting myself in the foot for not taking advantage of Cyber Monday. And then you gotta wait for it to get mailed to you and then something things are on back order. It’s mayhem!
It truly is!! Thanks Linda! Good luck with the shopping!
I’ve never rolled and stuffed a pork joint before either, though I have eaten a few! Not whole ones though 🙂 I love it, watching videos on youtube to find out how to do things – there really is nothing you cannot learn from youtube 😀
Thanks Fiona! 🙂
very pretty pictures <3
Thank you! I of course don’t think so, but then I never do! Means a lot! 🙂 Merry Christmas season!
This looks gorgeous, Tieghan! I think I may be making this for Christmas rather than a turkey! Really beautiful.
Thank you so much! Hope you had a great day!
I like the new lower temperatures for Pork, no more shoe leather!
Thanks Amy!
Goodness, this looks so amazing. I may have to change my traditional roast beef for stuffed pork loin come christmas! I absolutely love adding fruit to pork, this is perfect!
Thank you so much! Hope you had a great day!
Ok, so I’m not the best husband when it comes to eating pork. M wife adores pork roasts but I won’t touch them. But…..having said that, yours does look yummy. And I have to give it to you, lots cheaper than the beef roast you were talking about. So, I’m giving the wife the green light. I’ll eat her pork and then maybe she’ll let me buy our first flatscreen t.v.???!!!!!!!
haha! Cool!
Thanks Tom!
Yum ! So what time is dinner Tieghan 🙂
I love a Pork Roast. I have to admit I have never stuffed one before, so there is always a first time, and that time will be soon, because for some reason Pork here, seems to be on special at most places where I shop …Bonus !
The wild rice, mushrooms and bacon really seems like a keeper…Doing this for sure 🙂
hehe! Thanks Lynne!
I loooooove pork, I love pork roast!! I normally do not go for the loin – it is way more expensive here in Portugal, go figure!! – and I find that it tends to dry up a little, it doesn’t become as succulent as shoulder, for instance, which is my fave! I really love the idea of that stuffing inside the pork, though, the wild rice and the mushrooms really did it for me – as opposed to pineapple as I don’t really like pineapple in savoury dishes…
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Thank you!
Pineapple and bacon? Two of my favourite foods together in one recipe… This looks amazing xD
THANKS! 🙂
this sounds like such an easy and tasty filling! half tempted to just make that and forgo the pork (; and christmas shopping is so hard! i never know what to get anyone (what to bake for them is a lot more instantaneous), and the crowds are crazy (my friend snapped me from the mall last night and it was already a zoo).
Thanks Heather!! UGH…the crowds!