This one is pretty enough for a holiday with it’s pretty red and green colors. It’s also perfect for a summer meal. Pork tenderloin rolled comes tender. The resulting dish is so delicious when it’s filled with these Italian flavors.
Have a digital instant meat thermometer on hand
Just be sure to get an instant thermometer if you don’t have one, before making this. There are so many out there. You can get a decent one for just about $100. One of my favorites is the Thermopen One.
Roast it until the thickest portion comes to 150, checking in four to five places in each piece of meat, to ensure both the pork and the filling have been brought to 150 degrees. Let the meat rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing and serving. This will give a chance for the juices to distribute.
Start by gathering the ingredients
When ready to begin to make the Pork Tenderloin Rolled with an Italian Filling, get your filling ingredients ready. I like to mix the crust ingredients in a bowl and spoon the Dijon or mustard in a ramekin before starting on the pork tenderloin.
Gather your tools, cutting board or boards, cellophane, your cast iron skillet or oven safe skillet. Cut your kitchen string pieces, or have your skewers ready.
Remember to wash your hands often during the prep, keeping everything else in your kitchen clean in the process. Also, make a mental note to completely clean all surfaces after you are finished with the preparation of the pork tenderloin.
Since my kitchen is rather small, I designate one side for the pork to be prepped. The other side is my clean ingredients or any other dish which I am prepping.
How to make these rolled tenderloins
To prepare, lay the pork tenderloins on a cutting board. Using a boning knife or other sharp knife, remove the silver skin (tendon portion). Try to remove only the thick piece of tendon while leaving any fat on the meat. Leaving any fat on is important because the pork tenderloin cut is a very lean piece of meat. You want any fat for the flavor and moisture.
Make a slice down each tenderloin lengthwise carefully until you are about ½-¾ inch from cutting through. Next, move one tenderloin to a plate. Unfold the other tenderloin to have one flat piece on the cutting board. Repeat for the second tenderloin. You may be able to fit both side by side on a very large cutting board.
Lay a piece of cellophane over the top of the pork tenderloin. Using a mallet, rolling pin, or another heavy object, pound the meat (on the inside, facing up side) until it is 1/4-3/8 inch thick.
Layer each ingredient of the filling down on the inside, dividing between the two pork tenderloin. Leave an edge of ½ inch free from any filling.
Roll up the tenderloin from one long end to the other and secure with your precut kitchen strings. It’s fairly easy if once the pork is rolled you slide the strings evenly spaced under the meat. Wrap each string around the meat, tying in a knot. Or use long skewers to sew the edges together by weaving in and out to make the seam. Repeat for the second tenderloin.
A few tips for the rolling and securing with kitchen string:
- Cut 12, 7″ pieces of kitchen string for each pork tenderloin, before starting to roll the meat. Keep the string near the cutting board where you are working.
- After rolling the meat, poke several toothpicks into the meat to temporarily secure. Lay each piece of string under the meat, 5 or 6 per tenderloin. Next, set each piece under the tenderloin spaced apart. Wrap each string around the tenderloin. Tie a knot and repeat with the other strings. Cut any excess string close to the knots and discard.
- Remove the toothpicks and discard. Repeat for the second pork tenderloin.
- Coat the tenderloins in mustard and the almond herb crust.
Roast the pork tenderloin rolled with an Italian filling in a 400 degree oven
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sear each pork tenderloin to lightly brown on all sides in a 12 or 14″ skillet in a high heat oil. Add the garlic and tomatoes to the skillet, around the pork.
Roast in the center of the oven for 24-28 minutes, checking the temperature in several places before removing from the oven, as you want to make sure you are taking the temperature of both the meat (in the thickest part) and the center where the filling is.
Remove the pork tenderloin rolled with to a plate or platter when an internal meat thermometer registers 150 degrees F in 4-5 places. Since the meat will be thicker and thinner at different spots, it will be higher than 150 in some places and that’s okay. This cut of meat always comes very tender. If you’d rather cook closer to the 160 degree mark, you definitely can do that too.
If you plan to cool, refrigerate, and reheat the pork tenderloin later
Want to reheat one? If you plan to reheat, you can roast to 145 degrees in several places, including the center and the thickest portion. You must reheat the pork to a temperature of 165 degrees internal when reheating to kill any bacteria from the cooling process.
What should I serve with this dish?
What should you serve alongside this yummy pork tenderloin rolled dish? I would serve oven roasted golden potatoes or a rice pilaf. Even a buttered pasta would be delicious as a side for this dish. Roasted carrots or garlic artichokes would also be so good with it.
Sometimes we also serve marinara sauce to accompany this. It really isn’t necessary with the roasted garlic and tomatoes. They make this dish even better!
Enjoy!
~Laura
Pork Tenderloin Rolled with Italian Filling (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2 1.25-1.5 pound pork tenderloins, silver skin removed
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon Morton’s Kosher Salt
- olive oil
- 2 -3 large cloves garlic, crushed
- ¼ cup pesto, gf
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, grated or equivalent provolone amount
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, gf, optional or ½-1 teaspoon of Calabrian chili paste, gf
- 4 large cloves garlic, sliced
- 14 ounces baby heirloom tomatoes
- optional marinara sauce to serve
Crust
- ⅓ cup blanched almonds, unsalted, chopped or crushed
- ¾ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano, gf
- ½ teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed black pepper
- 2 tbsp Dijon or spicy mustard, gf
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients. Set aside. Mix the crust ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl. Set aside.
- On two cutting boards, with a sharp knife, slice each pork tenderloin lengthwise until ½ of an inch from slicing through. Unfold and lay flat. Cover with cellophane. Pound the meat with a meat mallet or rolling pin until about ¼-⅜” thick. Turn over to pound the other side also. Dry the meat thoroughly with paper towels and discard. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, reserving half of the total for the outside.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil, the garlic, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, (optional crushed red pepper or Calabrian chili paste), mozzarella and parmesan cheese evenly across each piece of meat. Leave a ½" edge all around free of the filling. Roll up each piece from one long side to the other. Wrap 5-6 kitchen string pieces around and tie with a knot to secure *(see tips for rolling and securing in paragraph above the recipe) or use a long wooden or metal skewer to “sew” the tenderloin along the seam, weaving in and out to secure the roll.
- Coat each rolled tenderloin in the mustard. Sprinkle each evenly with the almond herb mixture on all sides.
- Preheat the oven to 400 ℉. Heat a skillet or cast iron with a tablespoon of avocado oil or vegetable oil. Once it's hot, add both pork tenderloins. Sear on each side so it's golden brown all over. Add the sliced garlic pieces and the baby heirloom tomatoes.
- Move to the oven and bake for 24-28 minutes or until 150℉ internal temperature when checked in 4-5 spots of the meat, in the center and including the thickest section.
- Let sit for 8-10 minutes before removing the strings and slicing into ½" slices. Plate with the roasted garlic and tomatoes, and sprigs of fresh herbs. Serve with marinara sauce on the side if desired.
Notes
