Sausage Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin w/Cranberry Mustard Sauce

This stunning stuffed pork loin is slightly spicy from hot Italian sausage and perfectly accompanied by a sweet and tangy cranberry mustard sauce. It’s sure to be the star on your holiday table.

Pork Loins are Versatile and Delicious

If you want to impress your family at your holiday gathering, you have to make this amazing stuffed pork loin! It’s a perfect addition to your holiday table, makes a beautiful presentation, and it tastes absolutely amazing. 

I really like roast pork loins. They are so versatile and tasty to have all year round. We usually have one or two sitting in our freezer at all times.

We often grill or smoke the pork loins, cut them up and then have it available for whatever pork recipes we have on hand. Having the pork available makes it a lot easier to prepare an easy meal in little time.

Making the Sausage Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin w/Cranberry Mustard Sauce

As I mentioned above, a seasoned pork loin done on a grill or a smoker is easy to do and tasty just like that. But, if we want something a bit more fancy, we have to do more than that!

I thought creating a stuffing for the pork loin would be pretty awesome. A little meat, some veggies and some tasty cheese is always a pretty good combination. For this stuffing I used a delicious combination of hot Italian sausage (pork inside of pork!), shiitake mushrooms and spinach, along with a little parmesan cheese. 

To balance the spiciness of the sausage, it’s served with a sweet and tangy cranberry mustard sauce. Not only does is taste amazing, it also adds a beautiful pop of color to everyone’s plate. Very festive for a Christmas dinner or really any holiday meal.

How do I Know When the Pork Loin is Done?

The best way to know if your pork loin is cooked through is to use a meat thermometer. I have an instant meat thermometer simply because it is so easy to use.

Take the thermometer and probe the pork loin until you are in the center of the loin. Once the internal temperature hits 130-135 degrees it is ready to come out of the oven.

How to Butterfly a Pork Loin

I know the idea of stuffing a pork loin may sound a little intimidating, but it’s really not that hard. You just need a bit of patience and a little bit of time. 

But, it’s the holidays, so why not put a little extra effort into a special dish and learn a new skill at the same time? If you scroll down this post, you’ll find both step-by-step instructions and step-by-step photos to guide you through butterflying the pork roast. 

Give it a try. I know you’ll do great!

Give This Stuffed Pork Loin a Try!

I know it takes a little bit of extra time to prepare this stunning roast, but the great news is you can do all of the prep work up to a day ahead of time. Then, all you have to do when you’re ready to make this is sear the pork and roast it in the oven.  

Dinner will be done with little effort. So, will this stuffed pork loin be on your holiday table this year?

Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

• See photos above for how to butterfly the pork loin.
• If your roast is one solid piece, you will butterfly the roast twice. Start by cutting lengthwise about 1 inch from the bottom of the roast, to about 1/2 inch from the other edge. Open the roast like a book and continue cutting an inch from the bottom on the thicker side until you get to about 1/2 inch from the other edge and open the roast so that it’s flat. You will then pound it out as shown in the photo above.
• If you are unable to find fresh cranberries, frozen can be substituted.
• Any leftover stuffing would be delicious in either scrambled eggs or a frittata.

Ingredients Needed to Make Sausage Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin

Full instructions are found below in the recipe card

• Pork loin roast – This cut of meat works really well for butterflying and stuffing.
• Olive oil 
• Bulk hot Italian sausage – For a milder flavor you can substitute either bulk breakfast sausage or bulk mild Italian sausage.
• Shiitake mushrooms – If you’re unable to find shiitake mushrooms, cremini or button mushrooms can be substituted.
• Fresh spinach – I highly recommend fresh, but in a pinch you can substitute frozen. If you do, make sure it’s fully thawed and all of the excess liquid has been squeezed out.
• Plain panko bread crumbs – These help bind the stuffing together.
• Grated parmesan cheese – To keep things easy, I like to buy already-grated parmesan, but you certainly could buy a block of parmesan and grate it yourself.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Egg 
• White wine – I highly recommend a dry wine, such as sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.
• Chicken stock – You can substitute chicken broth.
• Fresh cranberries – Frozen cranberries can be substituted if you’re unable to find fresh.
• Unsweetened cranberry juice – This will give the sauce a slightly tart flavor.
• Maple syrup – I recommend using 100% pure maple syrup rather than pancake syrup. The flavor is much richer.
• Balsamic vinegar 
• Dijon mustard 
• Dried thyme – Fresh thyme can be substituted, just increase the amount to 1/2 tbsp.

How to Make Sausage Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin

To Prepare the Stuffing

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add sausage and cook, breaking up into small pieces with a spoon.
• When sausage is almost cooked through, but still a little pink, add mushrooms.
• Sauté until sausage is no longer pink and mushrooms have browned.
• Stir in spinach, a little at a time, allowing it to wilt.
• Once the spinach has wilted, stir in bread crumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper.
• Allow to cool slightly, for about 10 minutes, then stir in beaten egg.

Stuffing and Cooking the Roast

• If your roast is in two pieces and tied together like mine was, remove the string and separate the pieces.
• Take a large, sharp knife and cut lengthwise through the center of each piece, stopping about 1/2 inch from the other edge to butterfly the meat (see photo above).
• Cover the meat with plastic wrap and pound each piece out so that that it’s an even thickness, about 1/2 inch.
• Spread sausage stuffing out evenly over each piece. You will have leftover stuffing (see notes in recipe card).
• Carefully roll each piece up, starting at the narrowest edge and roll as tightly as possible.
• Tie each roll securely with 3 or 4 pieces of kitchen twine.
• Heat remaining tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat in a large oven safe skillet (a cast iron skillet works great).
• Sear both sides of the roast about 4 minutes per side.
• Add wine and chicken stock.
• Cover lightly with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until the meat is 130-135 degrees.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

To Prepare the Cranberry Mustard Sauce

• Add cranberries, 1/2 cup cranberry juice and maple syrup to a medium skillet.
• Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.
• Continue cooking until cranberries have burst and sauce thickens.
• Puree mixture with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree.
• Stir in remaining quarter cup cranberry juice, balsamic vinegar, dijon, salt, pepper and thyme.
• Serve the roast with the sauce.

Delicious Recipes to Round Out this Meal

• Field Green Salad
• Ultimate Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Everything Bagel Roasted Butternut Squash
• Broiled Asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan
• Broccoli Salad
• Perfect Homemade Dinner Rolls

 

ENJOY!