Stuffed pork tenderloin with goat cheese & cranberries

This stuffed pork tenderloin with goat cheese and cranberries is a change from my usual way of making tenderloin (described in this post where I used it for Banh Mi sandwiches). I wanted to make a quick and easy weeknight meal but different than the same old recipe. My original thought was to stuff it with cheddar and apples but turned out we were out of apples. I am planning to make that version as well. Meanwhile, posting this goat cheese and cranberry version – we loved this combination.

Adding bacon was a last-minute thought. I was basically making up this recipe for the stuffed pork tenderloin with goat cheese and cranberries on the fly. I wish I had more bacon, as two slices were a stretch (literally), but we made it work.

I served stuffed pork tenderloin with goat cheese and cranberries with sauteed squash with garlic and dill for a light dinner.

It took just a few minutes to assemble and the rest of the cooking time was hands-off which I used to prepare the sides.

You start by cutting the tenderloin across to open it up and layer your stuffing on top.

 

Be sure to prepare your baking sheet ahead of time and lay out a few strips of bacon on it. My tenderloin was small so two pieces were just barely enough.

Once you roll up the tenderloin, you can secure it with a couple of toothpicks but don’t worry about it it holding up – the bacon strips will hold it in place.

We like our pork medium-rare so I aim for 145F. Start checking at the 20-minute mark – everyone’s ovens are different.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin, 1.3 – 1.5 lb
• 4 oz goat cheese*
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• dried thyme and/ or oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper to taste
• 3 -4 slices of bacon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees F (215 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Layer the bacon strips across the sheet.
2. Split open the tenderloin to make a flat piece. Be careful not to cut through all the way.
3. Salt and pepper the meat, layer crumbled goat cheese, and the cranberries evenly over top, and roll up the sides to “close” the roll at the top. Secure with a couple of toothpicks and transfer to the baking sheet on top of the bacon.
4. Wrap the bacon strips around the tenderloin roll.
5. Bake for 25- 30 minutes until it reaches 145 F for medium rare (bake a few more minutes if you prefer it well done).

Notes:

* Instead of goat cheese and cranberries, try sliced cheddar and chopped apple.