Pork Roast stuffed with Bacon, Caramelized Onion and Spinach

Ingredients

• 1 (3lb) Boneless Pork Roast
• 1 (1 Lb) Package Bacon
• 1 Large Onion Chopped
• 2 TBS Fresh Sage Chopped
• 2 Tsp Garlic Powder (For Filling)
• 1 Tsp Salt + 1/2 tsp Pepper (For Filling)
• 4 Large Handfuls Fresh Spinach
• Additional Salt, pepper and Garlic Powder For the Pork Roast Rub

Directions

I Love making stuffed pork roast-  they are fun and a great platform to experiment with flavors and fillings. I made a roast similar for Christmas this year- and have been playing with the stuffing since. This recipe won high praise from my dinner guest. What I loved more about preparing it was just how easy it was to make- and how appealing it is visually. People will think your slaved all day to put it together. All you will need is an inexpensive Boneless Pork Roast, A sharp knife and some twine- and the basic stuffing ingredients that you might already have in your fridge (they are staple ingredients in our house anyways!)

Make sure that you DO NOT cut off any fat. Leave all of it intact.

The only tricky thing for some people with this recipe is understanding how to cut the pork- Ill do my best to describe it.(I should have taken pictures.. next time)  Think about the notion of unrolling the pork like a wrapped up carpet. You begin by cutting into it and following its bottom edge as your guide and slowly unrolling it- until it becomes a flat Square or rectangular shape.  Its quite easy to do provided you have a sharp knife to work with. After the pork is in this flat shape- use a Meat Mallet to pound it out as this as your can get it. The more surface area your have to work with- the better! This also tenderized and will allow the flavors of the stuffing to become more unified with the pork. Rub the pork with Olive oil (or other oil of choice) and generously sprinkle it with Salt and Pepper and some Garlic Powder.   Set aside and make the filling:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a Skillet (or in the oven as some prefer) Cook the package of Bacon until its crispy. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel- crumble the bacon and set aside.
3. Reserve  few TBS of the Bacon Fat in the pan. Add the Chopped Onion to the pan and cook it over medium heat for 15 minutes (more of less) Allow it to become golden brown. At this point- stir in the fresh chopped sage. Cook it only for a few moments- and then add in the Fresh Spinach. Season with the Salt, Garlic and some Pepper.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. Evenly spread the stuffing mixture over top of the flat pork Roast. Sprinkle the bacon on top.
5. Now its time to roll the roast- you want the roast as long as possible- So select the longest side and begin tightly rolling the pork on to itself. Place the Seam Side down and using Kitchen Twine tightly tie the pork at least 4 times evenly spaced – to make sure it stays together.
6. Place this rolled up and tied pork roast in a roasting pan. Drizzle with some more Oil and place it in the oven.

Cooking time can vary. When I have the time Ill cook the Pork at 250 Degrees for a good 3 hours and then bump up the heat at the end.  The lower the heat- the longer cooking time which creates a super moist roast.  The higher the heat- the faster it will cook and the drier it will be.  All that you need to know is that the pork MUST reach 160 Degrees as its internal temperature. A good thermometer will tell you when your pork is done. Once it reaches 160 quickly whisk it out of the oven.

A delicious roast should have a nice golden crust- so therefore the way I like to cook it- is to do the long and low technique for several hours- and then to turn on the broiler and allow it to soak up the intense heat for 5-10 minutes so that it develops a gorgeous crust. I then remove it from the oven.

The next MOST important thing that you MUST do- is allow it to cool- otherwise when you cut into it all of the amazing juices will run right out. No good.

When we are having company- I often will place the cooked roast in my crock pot and put it on the warm setting and just leave it in there for 30 minutes or so (or as long as I need to prep the rest of the food) This allows it to cool slightly- but also of course keeps its the perfect temp. for serving.

To serve cut the pork with a sharp knife in sections (as I have pictured) Giving the pork sufficient cooling time will also enable these gorgeous sections to happen- if you try to cut it too soon- it will not hold together. And finally of course- trim the Cooking Twine before you cut the pork- no one will be interested in having string on their plate

This Roast taste’s extra wonderful with a little Gluten Free Gravy!