Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Bread and Capers, Sherry Sauce
This is a roast in the European holiday tradition: a whole 1.5 kg piece of pork tenderloin, about three and a quarter pounds, slit into a pocket, packed with fresh breadcrumbs, capers, and lemon zest, wrapped in bacon and tied with twine. It is a make-ahead cut of meat, as good barely warm and thinly sliced as it is straight from the oven.
The egg binds the stuffing, but the bread decides its texture. Use soft fresh crumb, roughly two loosely packed cups from 100 g of white bread, not dried breadcrumbs: fresh crumbs absorb the meat juices and stay moist, while dry ones pull moisture out of the pork and crumble the moment you slice. Rinse the capers before chopping — they are salty enough to bury both the zest and the parsley otherwise.
An hour and a half at 340°F sounds long for tenderloin, but the bacon is doing the work, rendering slowly and basting the very lean meat the entire time. Do not push the temperature higher to save time; the bacon strips will scorch before the center of the stuffing is hot. The fifteen-minute rest under foil is not optional — the juices redistribute instead of pouring onto the cutting board.
The sauce is a pale butter-and-flour roux let down with dry sherry and chicken stock. Sherry brings a nutty bitterness that answers the salty capers; dry white wine or Marsala will stand in, though then add a pinch of sugar to the pan. Roast potatoes or celeriac purée soak up what is left in the saucepan.
Part of European cuisine — 100 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat 1.5 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a skillet, add the onion, and cook for 5-7 minutes until golden. Rinse the capers, pat dry, and chop.
In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, lemon zest, sauteed onion, and 1.5 tbsp of the capers. Add the egg, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
Rinse the meat. With a sharp knife, cut a deep lengthwise slit in the tenderloin. Pack the stuffing into the slit and press the edges together. Wrap the stuffed tenderloin in the bacon strips and tie with kitchen twine.
Heat the oven to 340°F. Set the pork on a sheet pan, drizzle with the remaining oil, and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the meat, cover with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat the remaining butter, add the flour, and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes. Pour in the sherry, stir, and bring to a boil. Add the stock and, stirring constantly, simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the remaining capers, stir, and remove from the heat.
Slice the meat into portions and serve with the sauce.
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