Pork Loin Stuffed with Capocollo and Provolone Cheese
Now that we’re moving away from summer temperatures and outdoor barbecues, it’s time to fire up the oven for a nice Sunday roast. This stuffed pork loin really ticks all the boxes — it’s easy to prepare, tastes great and serves at least six to eight people — even though it weighs only two and a half to three pounds. Start out with a pork loin — not a tenderloin, which is smaller and even more tender — but a pork loin. It will become just as tender as a tenderloin with the low and slow oven temperature included in the instructions below. First, you’re going to need to open it to stuff it, so take a sharp knife and cut into it lengthwise, stopping before you reach the bottom.
Keep opening the roast, kind of like a roll, slicing lengthwise the whole way around until you have a pretty even thickness throughout.
I tenderized the meat with a meat pounder, flattening it a bit more, then sprinkled throughout with homemade seasoned salt and black pepper.
Layer on thin slices of capocollo. In this case, I used a spicy version of capocollo to impart a little more flavor to the meat as the fat melts inside.
Layer slices of provolone cheese over the capocollo, and roll up the pork loin.
Then tie it securely with butcher’s twine, sprinkle with more seasoned salt, black pepper and paprika and insert some rosemary and sage into the twine.
Roast it in a slow oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 125 to 130 degrees F. The slow cooking will ensure you have tender slices of meat when you slice into it. Add some potatoes and onions smeared with olive oil and seasonings alongside the roast, but after you remove the roast, and while it’s resting on a cutting board, kick up the temperature to 450 degrees to let the vegetables get nicely browned.
If you want the outside fat on the roast to be crispier, just add a little olive oil to a skillet, turn the heat to high and sear the cooked roast on top. I didn’t do this extra step, but my roast didn’t have much fat on top either.
Make sure to let the roast rest at least fifteen minutes before slicing into it, so the juices don’t all come gushing out. It will also help to keep the filling intact too, once you slice into it.
As I said, the roast serves a lot of people, and we had enough leftovers for a great lunch the next day. Take a crusty roll and add a slice or two of the roast, some roasted red peppers, cooked broccoli rabe, and some melted provolone cheese. It’s worth making this recipe just to have these delicious sandwiches the next day.
Nerd Notes: If you’re confused about the names — is it capocollo, capicola or coppa? click here for a terrific explanation about these cured meat from DiBruno Brothers, one of my favorite shops in Philadelphia’s old Italian Market.
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- 1 two and a half to three pound pork loin (NOT tenderloin)
- ¼ pound spicy capocollo
- ¼ pound provolone cheese
- seasoned salt
- black pepper
- paprika
- rosemary sprigs
- sage sprigs
- olive oil to coat pan.
- Dry the pork loin with paper towels.
- Take a sharp knife and slice it lengthwise, avoiding going all the way through.
- Keep rolling the pork over, continuing to slice open the entire length, as if you're opening a book.
- Pound the roast with a meat pounder to tenderize, then sprinkle with seasoned salt and black pepper.
- Lay tthe slices of capocollo over the roast, then layer over the cheese.
- Roll it up tightly, making sure to end up with the fat layer of the roast on top.
- Secure it with butcher's twine.
- Season the outside with the seasoned salt, black pepper, and paprika, then insert rosemary and sage leaves into the twine.
- Roast for 1½ to two hours at 275 degrees F. or until a meat thermometer registers 125 to 130 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest at least 15 minutes or as long as ½ hour.
- Remove the twine, slice and serve.
I started out with what I thought was one five pound roast, but when I untied the butcher’s string, I discovered a couple of two and a half pound roasts instead. I needed only one of these roasts for my book club’s dinner earlier this week, and cooked the second one the following night.
Take a long, sharp knife and cut through the roast, slicing to open the piece of meat so it lies flat, trying to get an even thickness. After cutting, pound it with a meat press (keeping a piece of plastic over the meat) to help make it flatter and more even. Then season liberally on both sides with salt, pepper and fennel pollen (or fennel seed pulverized with a grinder or mortar and pestle). Set aside.
Place some chopped garlic, minced rosemary, red pepper flakes and lemon zest in a cold pan with olive oil and cook gently for a few minutes, until the garlic starts to sizzle. Drain through a strainer, reserving the oil, and placing the solids in a food processor.
Season the meat again on the outside with salt, pepper and fennel pollen (or crushed fennel seed).
