Pork tenderloin is one of the leaner cuts of meat, making it a healthy part of your cooking repertoire. It’s also tender and mild-tasting, and because of it’s mild flavor, it takes on seasonings, marinades, and stuffing quite well. Stuffed pork tenderloin is a particularly tasty way of dishing-up pork loin. Not to mention, anything stuffed has a certain “wow” factor when you serve it!
For a long time I was intimidated by cutting and then tying a pork tenderloin, an important part of making stuffed pork loin. As it turns out, however, it’s much easier than it looks. But, shhh… Learn how to do this and you can serve up stuffed pork loin to your family or dinner guests and let them be wowed by your incredible cooking abilities!Below are step-by-step instructions. Also, check out my recipe for Honey Walnut and Cherry Stuffed Pork Loin.
How To Cut and Tie a Pork Loin for Stuffing
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients and Tools
- Pork Tenderloin (recommended serving size is 4 oz per person, but for a party, figure on 6 oz per person)
- Boning knife (if you’re like me and you don’t own one, your sharpest, longest, pointy knife)
- Butcher’s String
Directions
Cutting Your Pork Loin
1. If there is a lot of excess fat on your pork loin, trim it off. Also, if the ends are really skinny and uneven, trim them off too.
2. To make your first cut, cut approximately 1/4 inch from the top of the loin.
3. Next, slowly cut in a spiral around the loin, keeping the “tail” that you are creating approximately 1/4 thick. Do this slowly, making small cuts. If you take your time, you’ll likely surprise yourself. If you do have an oops and put a hole in your meat, it’s not the end of the world. Your stuffed pork loin will still taste good – it’ll just be a little leaky!
4. Before stuffing my tenderloin, I like to gently tenderize and even out the bumpy parts using the smooth side of a meat tenderizer. If you place plastic wrap over your meat, it will prevent you from being splashed by the juices. Also take care not to pound too hard, so as not to poke a hole through the meat.
Tying Your Pork Loin
1. Measure out two arm-lengths of butcher’s string, and then slide it under your pork tenderloin, leaving a small tail.
2. Tie a knot in your string. If you’re paranoid like me, double knot it.
3. Make a loop with the string and then slide the tail under the pork.
4. Pull the tail through the loop.
5. Finally, tighten.
6. Continue to do steps one through five until you make it to the top of the meat.
7. On the last loop tie a knot. Once again, if you’re the paranoid type, double-knot it.
8. Trim the ends off of your string.
9. You’re ready to go!
Ron James says
you didn’t show how to stuff and roll it up
Rachel says
Great feedback Ron. I’ve actually been considering redoing and vamping up this post sometime this year. Possibly with a video. Your feeding back certainly is persuading me!
Betsy says
A video would give me more confidence.
Rachel says
Betsy, you are so right! Mr. Simple Seasonal and I were just talking about if we made just one video this year, it would be one for this blog post. We have a toddler at a moment which make video production challenging to say the least, but I really want to make it happen! Check back at the beginning of 2019, and if I haven’t made one yet, please give me a hard time! 😉
Christina G says
I won’t even attempt this without a video. I dont really understand even though there are pictures.
Rachel says
I hear you Christina! You’re not the first person requesting a video. It’s on the top of my list of videos to make once I’m at a time in life when I can get into making video. When I’m not at work I have a toddler at home with me in my small townhouse which creates logistic issues with creating video. So yes, I will make a video for this, but probably not for 2 to 3 years when my little one heads off to school. I hope you were able to find the information you needed in the end!