Crab Stuffed Pork Loin

Sunday was a great day to be outside. The weather was perfect for an August day on Long Island. Gone was the oppressive humidity and high heat we had been 'enjoying' of late and since one never knows how things will change you have to get out and make the best of it.

Between the rainy weekdays and the weekends spent vending cook offs and competitions, the yard had begun to look a little neglected and it felt good to get back out there with the rakes and shovels. One project (of the many) out in the back is the removal of the concrete firepit. This is being replaced by a built up hearth which will be inlaid with stone or slate to make way for a sweet cast iron stove I found at a yard sale. Can't wait to get cooking on that!

While working on that and trimming back some of the stand of bamboo I did manage to get the new Weber Performer all set for some grilling. This is going to be the forth time using the performer and I have to say that I am liking this Weber very much. 

Sunday dinner was going to be a 5 pound pork loin trimmed off of an 11 pound full loin just picked up at restaurant depot. More on that prep later. I set the Weber up for indirect grilling, using the two small charcoal holders, one on each side of the kettle. In between the holders I had a disposable tin bread pan filled with water & oregano stalks. Into each holder I put 25 charcoal briquettes which then were topped with 6 lit coals. I have found that using the Minion Method with this grill works great for extended cooking times.

That week Restaurant Depot had a sale on pork loin so I picked up two 10 pounders. One was sliced up into some boneless chops, some extra cubed for chili. The second one was  here is what was for dinner!

Crab (Imitation) Stuffed Pork Loin!

Ingredients:

4 lb Pork Loin / cleaned & trimmed

2 TBS Spicy Mustard

2 lb Imitation Crab Meat

2 Small Pears / diced

1 Granny Smith Apple / peeled & diced

1 TBS Tango Spice Chik N Rib Rub

1 tsp Carom Seed (optional)

Extra Chik N Rib Rub for coating pork loin

Directions:

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients except for pork & mustard, blend well then set aside.

Butterfly the pork loin & coat the inside with the mustard. I had thought about pounding out the loin  a bit to maybe make a roll out of it but decided to leave it as is, nice and thick.

Added perhaps about half of the crab mixture to one side of the butterfly. Folded that over and secured it with some six inch bamboo skewers. The other half of the crab mixture made great tacos when heated up with some sharp cheddar!

Then, to the outside of the rolled loin went a nice coating of our Chik N Rib Rub. This is a very tangy rub with just a hint of heat. This spice blend will go great with the apples & pears. The loin was then covered in plastic wrap and set on the counter while a charcoal chimney was started with 10 briquettes. This is all I needed to get the other coals going and it takes no time to get this small amount of coals hot. When they were well ashes over I split them into the charcoal holders in the Weber.

Close the lid on the kettle, adjust the vents and let the temp get up to 300 degrees.

Then it was time to place the loin in the center of the grill, close the lid and get cooking. After about 15 minutes I added a samll chunk of hickory to each charcoal holder for some smokey flavor.

Getting used to adjusting the vents I was able to keep the temperature at around 300 degrees, less than the oven but higher than if I was using the smoker. After about an hour I checked the internal temperature and it was rising nice and slow. The outside was getting nice and crusty so I place a tent of foil over it and let it go for another 30 minutes. Taking off the foil and testing the temp with an instant read thermometer the loin was at 152 degrees. I took the loin off the grill, wrapped it in foil and let it sit for 10 minutes or so.

Once it was time to slice it, the aroma was amazing and the juices just flowed. This is one meal I will definitely be making again. The spicy crust on the outside with the sweet crab meat and fruit on the inside was a taste sensation!

Here are some photos to enjoy.

Stay Hungry My Friends.

Tango Spice Company.

Imitation Crab With The Pear, Apple & Spices

Mighty Meaty Butterfly

Dora's Mustard Tastes Great

Lay On The Crabby Goodness

Sealed & Ready For Rub

Chik N Rib Rub - So Good

Here Is The Charcoal Ready For The Minion Method 

Smokey Goodness

Looking Good So Far

Getting The Crust On 

The Aroma Was Amazing 

Time To Tent

Almost Ready

Oh Yeah

Look At That Crust

Time To Carve

This Is Going To Be Great

Dig In

Enjoy Your Meal!