Fruit Filled Pork Roast

You will also need about 2 feet of butcher’s twine to tie the roast.

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Place a rack into a deep roasting pan, spray the rack with baking spray, and set aside.
2. Mix the seasonings together in a small dish.
3. Roughly chop the dried fruit, and then transfer it to a small bowl.
4. Peel and mince the garlic cloves, and stir it into the chopped fruit until distributed; set the filling aside.
5. Grab a sharp carving knife to create a cavity in the center of the pork loin by inserting the knife in the center of one end of the pork, and wiggling it back and forth to create a 1-inch pocket.
6. Remove the knife, turn the pork loin around, and repeat on the other end. After cuts are made, insert a wooden spoon into the newly created center cavity to ensure that it goes all the way through the pork loin.
7. Use your fingers to grab the fruit filling, and stuff it inside the newly-made cavity. Use the wooden spoon to make sure that the filling is distributed through the entire center of the pork loin.
8. Criss-cross butcher’s twine around the pork loin at 1-inch intervals, tying at one end to secure.
9. Sprinkle on the seasonings, and rub into the pork; coating on all sides.
10. Place the prepared pork loin on the rack in the prepared roasting pan.
11. Roast the pork for 1 ½ hours.
12. Pour the chicken stock over the pork and baste with a basting brush.
13. Continue basting the pork over 20 minutes, until pork is done and registers 160ºF on a meat thermometer (about an additional 1 hour 15 minutes).
14. Set roast onto a cutting board to rest for 15 minutes.
15. Slice the roast in ½-inch thick slices. Serve with any remaining pan juices (if any.)

Notes:
Recipe can be sized up or down depending on needs. Basic formula per pound is ¼ cup fruit filling, 1 clove of garlic, roughly 1/3 tablespoon seasonings, and ½ cup chicken stock. Cooking times will need to be adjusted, depending on weight of the roast. Slow roast pork for 30 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer reads 160ºF.