Mea culpa: I forgot to take a pic of the whole thing, but it was very pretty. This is a cross section on my plate. It was very rich, so I should have cut much thinner slices. Notice that we did have our New Years black eyed peas.
Day 1 and 2: Make rough puff pastry. Make sure it’s had at least 24 hours in the fridge after all of the turns. Can make as much as 48 hours ahead. (https://www.bonappetit.com/story/rough-puff-pastry-cheaters-guide)
Day 2: Make duxelles. I made basically this recipe, but used cognac instead of vermouth and flambéed it off. (https://www.thespruceeats.com/mushroom-duxelles-intense-and-refined-912879)
Day 3 (or day 2 after duxelles has fully cooled): Assemble the roll.
1 roll cut pork loin, about 3 pounds
½ pound pork sausage
2 large tart apples, peeled, cored, and cubed then tossed w/ lemon
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbs rendered bacon fat
Prosciutto- I used about 10 thin slices. Have extra for patching up
1 egg beaten, w/ tsp water
Brown the sausage and break up into small pieces. When it is almost cooked, toss in apples and cook to just soften. If there is a large amount of liquid, drain it off. Add panko and taste for seasoning. This will depend on the flavor from the sausage. The panko is just to soak up juice from the apple as it cooks. Set aside to fully cool.
While the stuffing cools, roll cut the pork loin if this wasn’t done by your meat market. Pound to about ½ inch thick, being careful not to leave any holes. Season w/ salt and pepper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
When stuffing is completely cool, layer it on one side of the pork loin and press down gently. Then roll from the short end to make a relatively tight spiral. Truss tightly with kitchen twine. Brown in hot bacon fat on all sides. Then place the entire roast in the fridge for about an hour until cool. Remove twine.
Lay out overlapping plastic wrap large enough to accommodate the circumference of your roast. Create a thin, overlapping sheet of prosciutto. It should be large enough to completely cover the roast when rolled up. The prosciutto is used in part to stop juice from the roast from wetting the pastry so it should have no holes or gaps. Put a thin layer of duxelles on the prosciutto leaving a ¼ inch strip at the edges clear. Place the cooled roast (with twine removed) in the middle of the duxxelles covered prosciutto. Use the plastic wrap to bring the edges of the prosciutto up and fold in the ends until the roast is completed sealed in it. Look for gaps in the ham and if there are any, spackle them over with additional prosciutto. Try to keep the entire roll tight. Use the plastic wrap to make a tight, neat log and refrigerate this overnight. The roast should be completely cold before enrobing in pastry.
Day 4: Roll rough puff pastry into a ¼ inch thick rectangle big enough to roll around your roast. Remove roast from plastic wrap and then bring the pastry up around the roast as you did with the prosciutto. Seal all edges with fingertips and place the pastry covered log on a baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper. (Seam side down). Score or decorate w/ excess pastry as desired. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove the pastry covered roast from the fridge. Insert a digital probe thermometer into the very center of the roll. Place in a 400F oven, then immediately reduce the temperature to 375. Cook until the center of the roast reaches 145F. Remove from the baking sheet asap so that the pastry isn’t sitting in any cooking juices. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, then slice into thick cross sections to serve.
Not The Knowing One 