Happy Easter! I made this pork tenderloin for a potluck at our house today and didn’t have time to get it up in advance… hopefully you can find a time to make it before next Easter! It would be a great Sunday dinner in general, or a fun way to surprise your man on a special date night. I served it with roasted sweet potatoes, but you could also use other veggies or a simple side salad to round out the meal. I love the combination of apricots, apples, balsamic vinegar, and dijon mustard in the filling- almost reminds me of (dare I say it?) FALL! But really, it’d be good anytime of year.
Enjoy!
Apricot & Apple Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Recipe Type: Pork
Cuisine: American, Easter
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
I love the combination of sweetness from the apples and apricots combined with the tang of the balsamic and dijon mustard in this pork recipe. I’ve never made a pork tenderloin before, but I think this was a win for my first time!
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb pork tenderloin
- salt and pepper
- 1 sweet red apple, chopped (I used a Macintosh)
- 10-15 dried apricots, chopped
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced (about 2 tbsp)
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp whole ground dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp olive oil
- kitchen twine
- 1/4 cup apricot preserves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 deg.
- In a small bowl or mason jar, mix together chopped apple, apricots, applesauce, rosemary, lemon juice and zest, garlic, mustard, vinegar, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Set aside.
- Butterfly the pork tenderloin by slicing it lengthwise on one side, stopping about 1/2 inch before the other side. Spread it open and use a meat mallet to flatten it a bit, so that each half is about 1/2 to 3/4″ thick. Spread half of the filling generously into the center of the pork, then close. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Carefully tie up the pork every 2 inches or so with kitchen twine in order to prevent it from falling apart in the oven (tip: count how many pieces of twine you use so you don’t forget about one of them later… they sort of get buried in the meat if you tie them tightly like I did!).
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil on medium high. Sear each side of the pork for 1-2 minutes until nicely browned.
- Slather apricot preserves and remaining filling onto top of seared pork, stirring gently to allow the preserves to melt.
- Transfer pork to an oven-safe dish. (I also added some sweet potatoes, red onion, and extra rosemary around the pork for bulk).
- Cook at 425 deg for 20-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 145 deg.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Claire Tastes 
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