Are you searching for the ultimate holiday showstopper? A magnificent, jaw-dropping centerpiece for your Christmas dinner table that is as impressive to behold as it is unbelievably delicious? This incredible, from-scratch Sausage and Apple Stuffed Pork Roast is that perfect recipe. We’re talking an impossibly juicy and tender pork loin, butterflied and rolled around a savory, sweet, and herbaceous stuffing of Italian sausage, tart apples, and fresh sage, all encased in a savory, golden-brown crust.
This isn’t just another roast recipe; it’s your definitive guide to creating a truly unforgettable holiday feast. While a stuffed roast may seem like the territory of a professional chef, we’ll break down the entire process into simple, manageable steps. This is a satisfying, soulful, and deeply impressive meal that is destined to become your new family tradition.
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Easy & Elegant Holiday Roast
What makes this Stuffed Pork Roast so spectacularly delicious is its incredible depth of flavor and its stunning, spiral presentation when sliced. This recipe is a masterpiece of classic, festive cooking. The star of the show is a beautiful, lean boneless pork loin roast. The brilliant technique involves carefully slicing and unrolling the meat into a flat rectangle. This creates the perfect canvas for a luxurious, from-scratch stuffing made from a savory blend of mild Italian sausage, sweet onions, celery, and tart apples, all bound together with toasted, herb-infused breadcrumbs. The meat is then rolled back up into a beautiful roast, seared to a golden-brown, and then roasted to juicy perfection.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 2 hours (includes resting) |
| Active Prep Time | 45 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Intermediate |
| Servings | 6-8 |
The Holiday Kitchen: The Essential Ingredients
This iconic dish uses a handful of high-quality ingredients to create its signature rich and savory-sweet flavor.
- The Pork Loin (The Star of the Show!):
- Boneless Pork Loin Roast: This is a wonderfully lean, tender, and budget-friendly cut that is perfect for roasting. It is important to note that a pork loin is a different cut from a pork tenderloin—the loin is a much larger, wider roast that is perfect for butterflying and stuffing.
- The Savory Stuffing: The secret to the deep, complex, and festive flavor is the classic combination of savory and sweet.
- The Savory Base: A classic and delicious combination of mild Italian sausage, sweet yellow onion, and celery creates the perfect, rich flavor foundation.
- The Sweet & Fresh Notes: A crisp, tart apple (like a Granny Smith) adds a wonderful, bright sweetness that cuts through the richness of the pork and the sausage, while a trio of fresh, woody herbs—sage, rosemary, and thyme—adds an incredible, festive aroma.
- The Toasted Breadcrumbs: Instead of simple breadcrumbs, making your own from fresh bread and toasting them in butter adds a wonderful, rich texture and flavor to the stuffing.
The Roasting Masterclass: The Secret to a Perfectly Juicy Stuffed Roast
This recipe uses a few simple but brilliant professional techniques that guarantee a flawless, impressive result.
- Butterflying the Roast: The number one secret to a beautiful, stuffed roast is to “butterfly” or unroll it. By carefully slicing the loin parallel to your cutting board, you can unroll it like a book to create a large, flat canvas. This is the key that allows you to get that beautiful, pinwheel spiral of stuffing in every single slice.
- The Stovetop Sear: Before the roast goes into the oven, you must give it a quick sear in a hot, oiled pan on all sides. This is the crucial step that creates a beautiful, deep golden-brown, and incredibly flavorful crust through the Maillard reaction.
- Rest, Rest, Rest!: You must let your finished roast rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice into it. This crucial, patient step allows the hot, delicious juices to relax and redistribute throughout the entire roast. If you cut into it too early, all those incredible juices will run out onto your cutting board, resulting in a dry roast.
Step-by-Step to the Best Stuffed Pork Roast
This elegant, festive meal is a joy to prepare.
Part 1: The Art of the Savory Sausage & Apple Stuffing
Step 1: First, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
Step 2: In a large sauté pan over a medium heat, cook your 1/2 pound of mild Italian sausage until it is no longer pink. Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the flavorful fat behind.
Step 3: To the same pan, add your 1 chopped yellow onion, 2 chopped stalks of celery, and your 1 peeled and diced tart apple. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the apple is no longer crisp. Add your 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir your cooked sausage back in, and set this mixture aside.
Step 4: In a food processor, pulse your 2 pieces of white bread with the 2 teaspoons each of fresh sage and rosemary and the 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme until you have coarse crumbs. In a separate pan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and cook the herb crumbs for about 3 minutes, until they are lightly toasted.
Step 5: Mix your toasted breadcrumbs into the sausage and apple mixture.
Part 2: Butterfly, Stuff, and Tie the Roast
Step 1: To prepare your roast, place the 3-pound boneless pork loin on a cutting board. Use a large, sharp knife to carefully slice the roast open, unrolling it as you work until you have a large, thin, rectangular piece of meat.
Step 2: Lightly pound the meat with a meat mallet to even out the thickness. Season the inside of the pork generously with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Top the pork with your prepared filling, spreading it evenly but leaving a 1-inch margin all around the perimeter.
Step 4: Starting with the short side, roll the pork up tightly, jelly-roll style, and secure the finished roast with kitchen twine.
Step 5: In a large, ovenproof sauté pan, heat the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over a medium heat. Add your tied roast and brown it on all sides.
Part 3: The Perfect Roast and the Final Rest
Step 1: Place your seared roast in a roasting pan that has been fitted with a rack. Add your 1/2 cup of white wine to the bottom of the pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 2: Start checking the internal temperature. You will know the roast is perfectly done when your instant-read thermometer inserted into the very center registers 145∘F.
Step 3 (The Most Important Step!): Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before you remove the twine and slice it.
To serve, carve the roast into thick, beautiful, spiral-stuffed slices.
Sausage and Apple Stuffed Pork Roast (A Holiday Showstopper!)
An elegant and savory recipe for a Sausage and Apple Stuffed Pork Roast, perfect as the centerpiece for a holiday dinner. This dish features a boneless pork loin that is butterflied and pounded thin, then filled with a flavorful stuffing. The stuffing is a rich combination of browned Italian sausage, sautéed apples, onions, and celery, all tossed with toasted, herb-infused breadcrumbs. The pork is then rolled up jelly-roll style, tied, seared for a golden-brown crust, and roasted in the oven until perfectly cooked.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tart apple, peeled and diced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pieces white bread
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons butter
- One 3-pound boneless pork loin
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Make the Stuffing: In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the sausage until no longer pink. Remove the sausage, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the onion, celery, and apple to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes until the apple is tender. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir the cooked sausage back in and set the mixture aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the bread with the sage, rosemary, and thyme into coarse crumbs.
- Heat the butter in a separate pan and toast the breadcrumbs for about 3 minutes until lightly golden. Mix the toasted breadcrumbs into the sausage and apple mixture.
- Prepare the Pork: Butterfly the pork loin by slicing it open horizontally and unrolling it into a large, flat piece. Place it between two sheets of parchment paper and lightly pound it to an even thickness.
- Season the inside of the pork with salt and pepper. Spread the prepared stuffing evenly over the pork, leaving a 1-inch border.
- Starting with a short side, roll the pork up tightly and secure it with kitchen twine.
- Cook the Roast: Heat the vegetable oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the roast and brown it on all sides.
- Place the seared roast in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Add the white wine to the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 145°F.
- Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- This is a showstopper main course that is perfect for a special occasion like Christmas dinner.
- Butterflying the pork loin is a key technique that allows you to create a large surface area for the delicious stuffing.
- Resting the roast for a full 10 minutes before carving is crucial for the juices to redistribute, ensuring the meat is moist and tender.
- The white wine in the bottom of the roasting pan creates steam and prevents the pan drippings from burning.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Make-Ahead: This is the perfect make-ahead holiday meal! You can prepare the stuffing and even fully stuff, roll, and tie the unbaked roast up to 24 hours in advance.
- Storage: Store any leftover roast, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- The Best Leftovers: Thinly sliced, leftover pork loin makes the absolute best sandwiches!
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the absolute, number one secret to a juicy, not dry, pork loin?
The two most important secrets are to not overcook it and to let it rest. Using an instant-read thermometer to pull the pork from the oven just as it reaches the perfect temperature, and then letting it rest for at least 10 minutes, are the non-negotiable keys that will guarantee an incredibly juicy and tender result.
Q2: What is the difference between a pork loin and a pork tenderloin?
This is a very common and important question! A pork loin (what is used in this recipe) is a large, wide, and relatively lean roast that is perfect for stuffing. A pork tenderloin is a much smaller, thinner, and more delicate muscle that is incredibly tender and cooks much, much faster. They are not interchangeable in this recipe.
Q3: Can I make this ahead of time for a holiday dinner?
Yes, absolutely! The best method is to fully assemble the unbaked roast a day in advance. You can then simply sear it and pop it in the oven an hour before you plan to eat, which frees up a huge amount of time on a busy holiday.
Q4: Can I use a different kind of sausage or apple?
Yes! This recipe is wonderfully versatile. A spicy Italian sausage or even a breakfast sausage would be delicious. For the apple, any crisp, firm baking apple, like a Honeycrisp or a Braeburn, would also be fantastic.
Q5: What if I don’t have a food processor to make the breadcrumbs?
If you don’t have a food processor, you can simply toast your slices of bread until they are dry and crisp, and then place them in a resealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Then, you can simply toss the crumbs with your finely chopped fresh herbs.