Three Pigs Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Candied Carrots

Name: Three Pigs Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Candied Carrots
Yield: serves 8 to 10
Ingredients: 2 bunches whole carrots (about 20 carrots), peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter; 1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; Zest of 1 orange; 3/4 pound bulk Italian sausage; 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage, plus several whole leaves for garnish; 1 pound fresh baby spinach; 3 Savory Smoked Tomato–Asiago Scones (page 35); 4 pounds pork loin roast, butterflied twice for stuffing (see headnote); Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 3/4 pound thick-sliced applewood-smoked bacon; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 small yellow onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 750 ml bottle port wine (ruby or tawny); Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 3 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped

December 14, 2011

Three Pigs is one of my favorite party dishes because it feeds a lot a people without breaking the budget. I make the stuffing one day in advance, refrigerate it, and all that’s left is to slather it onto the pork in a thick layer, roll it up, top it with a bacon roof, and put it into the oven. The carrots are a snap as long as you have a mandoline, or a carrot guy or gal (someone whose sole job is to cut the carrots into even slices on the diagonal; I’m just fantasizing here). We had a bread guy when I was the executive pastry chef at Tony’s in Houston, and all he did was make bread, all day, every day. Sadly for me, I don’t have a carrot boy or girl. When I’m entertaining at home, the work mostly falls to me, so I hook up my iPod, turn up the volume, and slice my own carrots. And unless I’m at work, it’s up to me to butterfly the pork loin so that it lies flat for stuffing. If I were you, I’d ask your butcher to do it, specifying that the loin be butterflied twice for stuffing. Day-old scones make a fabulously rich stuffing, I’ve discovered. Bake my smoked tomato scones (page 35) for another meal and stow three in the freezer for use whenever you fancy making this dish.

Recipe notes