Have your ever walked through the meat section of your local grocery store, saw whole pork loin on sale, and wondered what to do with it? Well, then this Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe is going to be your new best friend. Quite often, whole pork loins will go on sale for $1-$2 per pound. This makes it quite easy to feed the entire family for just a few bucks.

This Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe is meant to be more of a base technique for a method of preparing a pork tenderloin. As we go through this recipe I will point out different areas where I have made improvements.

This Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe will show you how to stuff a whole pork loin using a combination of prosciutto ham and a creamy spinach, pesto sauce. All covered in aged white American cheese and put on the smoker with cherry wood.

I have also prepared this Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe successfully using a combination of buffalo chicken from the local deli. Using a creamy curry cheese sauce and all topped with sharp aged Vermont cheddar cheese.

The point here is that once you get a feel for how to stuff and smoke a whole pork loin, you are only limited by your imagination as to what you can stuff in one of these bad boys.

Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe Overview

This recipe consist of just a few simple ingredients and steps which is what makes it so customizable. When using a base like a pork loin, the flavor is neutral enough to allow almost any style of cuisine from Italian to Cajun flavors.

First, the pork loin is trimmed and butterflied open to lay out flat. Next, a thick and creamy sauce is prepared and set aside. The flattened tenderloin is then layered with a thin sliced deli style meat of your choice. Finally, this is all topped with slices of a good quality cheese, rolled up, and tied with twine. Then, you simply pop that guy on the smoker, or even in the oven if you must, and smoke at 300 until it’s done.

Simple enough? Lets jump into the specifics and see how this all comes together to produce one of the most mouth watering dishes you have ever had.

Pork Loin

Trimming

I like to start with a 5 to 6 pound whole pork loin. When selecting your pork loin, look for one that has a uniform thickness from end to end. This will help when we start butterflying the loin.

Trim the thick fat cap and silver skin off of the pork loin. Using a sharp knife makes this step much easier and faster. I like to start buy slipping the knife under a section of the silver skin about midways down the loin and slide the knife all the way to the end. I have found that if you slightly tilt the blade upward, you will avoid cutting deep into the meat and the firmer silver skin seems to keep the knife blade in place.

After the first slice to the end of the loin, you can turn it around. Hold on to the strip you just cut and finish trimming to the other side.

Continue trimming off the fat and silver skin in thin strips until it’s all cleaned off. Note, you will not be able to get every single piece off. So, don’t drive your self crazy trying to make it perfect, you will just end up hacking the loin to death.

When finished, your whole pork loin should like like this

The Butterfly

This is the only part of preparing a stuffed pork tenderloin that requires a little patience and practice. I will explain the process that I use, but it is most easily understood through a series of pictures.

First, your goal here is to “unroll” the whole port loin by slicing or fileting along the bottom, Continue until is is a thin flat sheet of pork. The thinner you are able to butterfly your loin, the more tender the final product will be.

So, I start by taking an extremely sharp knife and holding it parallel to the countertop and about 1/4 inch above the countertop. I then begin making shallow slices lengthwise from end to end on the loin. As I make each shallow pass, I roll the pork loin open and continue until it is completely unrolled.

Here is a series of pictures that should help you to visualize the process.

Don’t worry if you cut a few holes in your pork loin, it will still work out fine. This step takes a little practice, so be patient.

The sauce

The creamy sauce in this recipe is really what adds allot of flavor, I like to save a little to top the loin when it’s finished.

Start by adding a bag of baby spinach to a pot. Then, add your minced garlic and a whole stick of butter. Cook the spinach all the way down until it’s tender, this should only take a few minutes.

After your spinach is tender, pour it all in a food processor and process until it’s finely chopped, but not liquid.

Next we are going to put the processed spinach back into the pot and add your cream cheese. Cook this over low heat until the cream cheese is completely melted. Do not boil.

Once the cream cheese and spinach is melted together, you can add your parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, pesto, salt and pepper to taste.

Cook until all cheese is melted and smooth and you are done with your cream sauce.

Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe Assembly

Alright, we have our whole pork loin trimmed, butterflied, and ready to go. We also have our cream sauce made up and set aside. Now, all is left is to assemble this bad boy and pop it on the smoker until it’s smoked to perfection.

Start by layering your pork loin with this slices of your prosciutto ham. You can use any style of deli meat if you are customizing this recipe. With that being said, the prosciutto or another salted ham, is highly recommended. Especially, if you are making this recipe with the pesto based cream sauce above.

Next, it’s time to add that amazing creamy cheese sauce, but first it is very important to dip your finger in the sauce to try it . . . . ya know, for science.

After tasting your sauce 3-4 times, just to be sure, pour the sauce evenly over the top of your prosciutto. Smooth out with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

The cheese sauce should make a nice even coat all the way across the pork loin and almost to the edges. This small gap all the way around will help you not to make a mess as you are rolling the pork loin in the next step.

When finished it should look like this

The last layer to go on is the cheese. Now, just like the sauce, the most important step here is to eat several slices before adding the rest to the loin. I feel that it is my responsibility to taste the cheese just in case ninjas have poisoned it . . . gotta protect the children ya know.

Layer what’s left of the cheese, after taste testing, into overlapping rows covering the whole pork loin.

Rolling it all up

This part is fairly simple. Start at one end and just roll up the stuffed pork loin. Once you have it rolled up, I like to tie it with butchers twine. About four pieces should work just fine. Sometimes, I have found it’s easier to get another set of hands with the tying part. It is important to tie the twine tight, especially the ends to keep the filling from cooking out.

At this point you also have the option to season the outside with your choice of BBQ rub or other seasonings.

Smoking this Stuffed Pork Loin Recipe

Now we are ready for the fun part. Preheat your smoker to 300 degrees. I really like this stuffed pork loin smoked over cherry, as the mild fruity smoke of the wood really compliments the flavors. Pop this guy on the smoker and smoke until the internal temp is 145 degrees. Using a meat thermometer is absolutely necessary to ensure the pork reaches an internal temperature that is safe. The last thing you want to do is go through all the trouble of testing the sauce for science and the cheese for poison, just to kill everybody with undercooked pork. Below are a couple of thermometers that I love :

Both of these will give you accurate results. The instant read will let you quickly check internal temp. If you prefer to monitor your temps remotely from your phone, then the Inkbird cannot be beat.

It usually take between 1 to 2 hours for this stuffed pork loin to reach 145 and be done. Remember, as with any meat, it is important to give 5-10 minutes to rest before serving.

After your rest period you should have a beautifully smoked stuffed pork loin and you entire house should smell amazing.

This is best served by slicing in 3/4 to 1 inch slices across the pork loin. The side profile should look like a pinwheel. Be careful when plating each slice because if it unrolls on the way to the plate, all of the stuffing can fall out. I find it best to use a pair of tongs or slide a spatula under each piece to serve.

If you tried this recipe or customized it, let me know in the comments below how it turned out.