Fillet of Pork Wrapped in Bacon

This post was updated on 25 December 2011 with new photos and some adjustments.


As the temperature is dropping little by little every day, I am reminded that it will soon be winter.  With winter comes Christmas, for me one of the toughest times to be living in Taiwan.  Firstly, it isn't a public holiday here and few people really know what the day is really about.  Secondly, for me, Christmas was always a day I spent with my family.  I will never forget how sorry I felt for myself during my first Christmas in Taiwan.  It was a normal working day and my boss, a woman with the very Biblical name of Esther, refused to give me the day off.  She still asked me, "Why do you care so much about this American holiday?  You do realise that Santa isn't real."  How do you argue with that?  


Since that year, I've made a point of taking the day off and to try and spend it with friends.  We get together, exchange small gifts and of course, cook!




This fillet of pork, wrapped in bacon is super easy to make, but quite a show stopper.  Believe me when I tell you that your guests will be impressed with this dish.  You can make it instead of a regular joint of meat and, in Taiwan at least, pork fillets are pretty cheap, so you'll have more money for presents or booze!  I adjusted the original recipe by Sue Maggs, for the Taiwan kitchen.




Serves 8 (or fewer people but with some nice leftovers for sandwiches!)


Ingredients
3 large pork fillets, weighing about 1.2kg in total
1 pack of rindless streaky bacon
2 tbsp butter
150 ml red wine



For the prune stuffing
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, very finely chopped
120 g mushrooms, very finely chopped
4 - 5 prunes, stoned and chopped
10 ml dried mixed herbs
2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg

A good pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste


Method 
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Trim the fillets, removing any sinew and fat. "Butterfly" the fillets by cutting each fillet lengthways, three-quarters of the way through, open them out and flatten.


2. For the stuffing, melt the butter and cook the onion until tender, add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the remaining stuffing ingredients. Spread the stuffing over two of the fillets and sandwich together with the 3rd fillet.


3. CAREFULLY stretch each rasher of bacon with the back of a large knife.


4. Lay the rashers of bacon overlapping across the meat. Cut lengths of string and lay them at 2 cm intervals over the bacon. Cover with a piece of foil to hold in place and roll the 'joint' over. Fold the bacon rashers over the meat and tie the string to secure them in place. (You might need someone to help you tie the knots - this could be tricky!) Roll the 'joint' back on the bacon joins and remove the foil.


5. Place in a roasting tin and spread the butter over the 'joint'. Pour the wine around the meat in the tin and cook for 1h15min (to 2hours, depending on your oven), basting occasionally, until evenly browned.


6. Transfer the pork to a serving plate, remove the string, cover loosely with foil and leave to stand for 10 - 15 minutes, before slicing. 



Serve with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and (Ikea) gravy.


Enjoy!

Comments

  1. This is awesome!! I like what you do here!! You should have done this.To have your own blog and share your cooking ideas are awesome!! and for me.....I guess this comment can get me a position in your restaurant!! heehee :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Joyce, much appreciated. I'll always need someone to peel the potatoes! :)

    ReplyDelete

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