Bacon wrapped pork roulade an easy choice for a festive meal

As 2023 winds down, bear with me as I reminisce a bit.

This has been a challenging year for our family, health wise. My husband Frank’s serious accident in the spring, and his subsequent on-going recovery, has made us count our blessings many times over.

I’m especially appreciative to be celebrating New Year’s with a meal cooked for family and friends.

Our custom is to have one of the dishes contain pork. Like black eyed peas, greens, pomegranates and noodles, the lore around pork is that it brings good luck for the new year.

I’m thinking of making peppered bacon wrapped pork tenderloin again.

This roulade has a savory filling of mushrooms, onions and pecans.

A brown sugar rub right before roasting lends a little sass to the savory. An easy choice for a festive main. Those of you who’ve made it agree!

And as we segue into 2024, I’m looking forward to sharing more recipes and a bit of homespun wisdom with you. I hope you’ll do the same and share some of your favorite recipes and stories with me, too.

Black pepper bacon wrapped pork roulade with mushroom pecan stuffing

Let the bacon sit out a few minutes and it will be easier to wrap.

The mushrooms, onions and nuts need to be diced real small so they don’t fall out during roasting.

Filling can be made a day ahead and warmed a bit before stuffing.

The meat doesn’t need much trimming, but do remove the “silver skin” since it will shrivel up and not melt.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter or olive oil

3/4 to 1 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped fine

1 small onion, diced fine (1 generous cup or so)

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (toast before chopping)

Two pork tenderloins, trimmed

Salt and pepper to taste

8 slices thick peppered bacon or regular thick bacon sprinkled with pepper

1 cup brown sugar, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450.

Melt butter over medium heat in skillet and add mushrooms and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender. Stir in nuts and set aside.

Butterfly each tenderloin by cutting a slit into middle horizontally about 2/3 of the way through.

It will open like a book. Then pound it out to even thickness and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread filling evenly between the 2 tenderloins, leaving a border so filling doesn’t ooze out.

Roll up snug. If filling does start to smoosh out, just push it back in.

For each tenderloin, lay 4 slices bacon on cutting board, spaced evenly to fit length of pork.

Place pork on top, seam side down. Bring bacon up and around, tucking ends underneath.

Put in sprayed baking pan.

Rub with brown sugar and roast, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 400 and roast 15 minutes, or until thermometer registers 140 or so. Don’t over cook or meat will be dry.

Let rest, tented, about 10 minutes, then cut into thick slices, using a sawing motion as you cut.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bacon wrapped pork roulade an easy choice for a festive meal