Elevate Your Dinner: Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Aromatic Spruce Tips, Sweet Raisins, and Zesty Orange Glaze

Experience a truly unique culinary delight with this recipe for moist and juicy pork tenderloin, elevated to sublime status when generously stuffed with fresh spruce tips, plump raisins, and vibrant orange zest. The final touch, a flavorful glaze made from the concentrated roasting liquid, brings all the exquisite elements together. (Jump straight to the full recipe below.)

Embracing the Fleeting Flavors of Spring: The Joy of Spruce Tips

Spring is a season of anticipation, especially for those who cherish the unique gifts of nature. I patiently waited, day after day, for the spruce trees in my garden to begin forming their tender, bright green new growing tips. Each walk outside involved a hopeful check for those distinctive thickening buds, a sign that nature was once again unfurling its edible treasures. Then, in what felt like the blink of an eye – a missed day or two – the magic happened: a glorious spruce tip explosion! Suddenly, the tips of every branch were adorned with fat, feathery brushes, bursting forth from their delicate papery husks.

Isn’t that often how life unfolds? We dedicate ourselves to waiting for a significant event, and then, almost before we can fully grasp it, the moment has passed or is nearly over. This sentiment resonates deeply with me as I navigate the bittersweet emotions of my children growing up. Forgive me if I sound a touch sentimental; today marks a significant milestone. My youngest, my “baby” – who is now a big, strong, sometimes boisterous teenage boy, but still, and forever, *my* baby – has just completed his last day of high school classes. Only exams remain. This morning, I packed his final school lunch, a small labor of love I cherished. I’m certainly a sentimental parent!

Every parent, at some point, echoes the familiar lament: “Where did the time go?” It feels like only yesterday I was watching them take their wobbly first steps across the kitchen floor. Today, I observe them taking their confident strides into the expansive world of adulthood, full of dreams and possibilities.

The Unique Appeal and Culinary Versatility of Spruce Tips

Just like these precious life moments, the short season for harvesting fresh spruce tips is fleeting. Yet, their culinary potential is immense, offering a distinctive flavor that brightens any spring dish. While their peak freshness is when they’re tightly furled, you can still enjoy them even after they’ve opened slightly, as long as they remain tender and a lighter shade of green than the mature branches. The photos in this very post illustrate this perfectly, showcasing tips that are still ideal for cooking.

Spruce tips are truly divine when roasted, especially with ingredients like rhubarb. Imagine the tartness of rhubarb beautifully balanced by the piney, citrusy notes of spruce tips – a revelation! They also shine when quickly sautéed with juicy mushrooms or crisp asparagus, adding an unexpected gourmet twist. And for a truly comforting experience, try them with new potatoes and cream – a match made in culinary heaven. Beyond these dishes, spruce tips can even be used to craft flavored salts or vinegars, allowing you to capture their essence for year-round enjoyment. Think of them as a unique, somewhat exotic, yet surprisingly accessible herb, often found as close as your own backyard or a nearby forest patch.

Beyond their delightful flavor, spruce tips are also packed with vitamin C, offering a healthful boost to your meals. Their distinct taste profile is often described as a blend of herbal, subtly citrusy, and even rosemary-like notes, with a hint of resinous sweetness. If you’ve never experimented with them before, I wholeheartedly encourage you to try them. They offer an exciting opportunity to explore new flavors and add a truly special touch to your cooking adventures.

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Mastering the Stuffed Pork Tenderloin: Tips for Success

Kitchen Frau Notes: This versatile stuffing mixture is so good that I’ve also successfully used it, doubled, to stuff a pork loin roast. The method remains similar: simply cut and tie the roast in the same fashion, then adjust the baking time to be a little longer to ensure thorough cooking. The resulting dish is equally wonderful.

One crucial tip for cooking pork tenderloin is to avoid overcooking this lean cut. For years, culinary guidelines have recommended lower cooking temperatures for pork, and it is now considered perfectly safe to cook it until it’s still slightly pink in the center, much like beef. This ensures maximum tenderness and juiciness. A prime example of enjoying pork in a less-than-well-done state is Hackepeter, a type of pork tartare common and absolutely delicious in Germany, which I had the pleasure of enjoying during a trip to Europe last year.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Spruce Tips, Raisins, and Orange Glaze

This recipe transforms a simple pork tenderloin into an elegant and flavorful centerpiece. The combination of herbaceous spruce tips, sweet raisins, and bright orange creates a harmonious blend that is both unique and utterly delicious. Follow these steps for a perfectly cooked and beautifully presented dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin, approximately 1 to 1¼ lbs (450-550gms)
• ¼ cup fresh spruce tips
• ¼ cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Zest of half an orange (preferably organic, for best flavor and peace of mind)
• Juice of 1 orange, divided
• Fine sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup white wine (adds depth to the glaze)
• 5 twelve-inch (30cm) pieces of cotton kitchen twine (essential for holding the stuffing)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) to ensure it’s ready for roasting when your tenderloin is prepared.

Prepare the Pork Tenderloin:

First, carefully remove and discard the silverskin from the pork tenderloin. This tough, silvery sheath of tendon, typically found on the top third of one end, won’t tenderize during cooking. To remove it, slide a thin, sharp knife underneath it, angling slightly upwards, and carefully slice it off, taking as little meat as possible. This step ensures a more tender bite.

To create space for the stuffing, make a lengthwise cut down the center of the tenderloin. Be very careful not to cut all the way through; aim to leave about ¼ inch (0.5 cm) uncut at the bottom. This creates a pocket.

Next, cut horizontally down the center of each of the newly created cut sides. Again, exercise caution to avoid slicing all the way through the meat. These additional cuts will allow the tenderloin to open up wider.

Open up the cut tenderloin and lay it flat. You should now have four distinct ridges running lengthwise. Using a meat hammer or the flat side of a heavy object (like a small skillet), gently but firmly pound the ridges to even out the thickness. The goal is to create one large, relatively flat cutlet that will roll evenly.

Prepare the Stuffing:

Finely chop the fresh spruce tips and place them in a medium bowl. Next, chop the raisins and add them to the spruce tips. Into the bowl, add the grated orange zest, honey, one tablespoon of the olive oil, one tablespoon of the orange juice, and a ¼ teaspoon each of fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix all these ingredients thoroughly until well combined. This aromatic stuffing is now ready. Spread this vibrant mixture evenly over the flattened tenderloin, ensuring you leave about ½ inch (1cm) clear around the edges to prevent spillage when rolling.

Roll and Tie the Tenderloin:

Carefully roll up the tenderloin, starting from one of the long edges, creating a tight, uniform cylinder. Secure the rolled tenderloin evenly with the cotton kitchen twine pieces you prepared earlier. Space them out to hold the stuffing securely inside. Once tied, trim any excess twine ends for a neat presentation.

Roast the Tenderloin:

Place the rolled and tied pork bundle into a roasting tin or baking pan. Choose a pan that is just slightly longer than the meat, approximately 10 inches (26cm) long, to allow the pan juices to concentrate effectively.

Squeeze the remaining orange juice over the tenderloin, then pour in the white wine. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil evenly over the top, and season liberally with additional salt and pepper. These liquids will form the base of your delicious glaze.

Place the roasting pan, uncovered, into your preheated oven.

Roast for about 35 minutes. To ensure perfect doneness without drying out, use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin (avoiding the stuffing pocket). The internal temperature should read 150°F (65°C). Remember, the meat will continue to cook slightly as it rests, so pulling it at this temperature is key to achieving a moist and tender result. Do not let it overcook!

Once roasted, remove the pan from the oven. Carefully transfer the tenderloin to a clean plate, tent it loosely with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest for a full 5 minutes. This resting period is crucial for the juices to redistribute, ensuring a more tender and flavorful cut.

Prepare the Orange Glaze:

While the meat rests, pour the flavorful pan juices into a small saucepan. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and thickens into a syrupy glaze, approximately 2 or 3 tablespoons worth. Watch it carefully during this stage, as it can quickly go from perfect to burned.

Serve and Enjoy:

Remove the twine from the rested pork tenderloin. Slice the meat into thick, appealing rounds, showcasing the vibrant stuffing. Arrange the slices artfully on a serving platter and generously spoon the rich, reduced pan juices over them. For an extra touch of elegance and flavor, you can decorate the platter with fresh orange wedges, a few additional spruce tips, and a sprinkle of raisins, if desired. This dish serves 4 and is sure to impress!

Guten Appetit!

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You might also like these delicious pork recipes and spruce tip inspired dishes:

Honey Mustard and Three Seed Encrusted Pork Tenderloin

Herb Stuffed Barbecued Pork Chops

Pork Chops with Saskatoon Chutney

Buttery Sautéed Mushrooms with Spruce Tips and Chives

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My wonderful little cooking buddy Meredith joined me on this adventure, helping me carefully pick the fresh spruce tips for this recipe: