Prune-Stuffed Roast Pork with Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
As featured in The Applegatarian.
"Every New Year's Day, my parents hosted an all-day open house for the whole street, a smorgasbord of food and drink and community. In the evening, the neighbors would leave and close friends and family would come for a sit-down dinner of about 20 people.The main course was always pork, sauerkraut, and kielbasa-which I think is a western Pennsylvania thing-plus mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole and gelatin salad.
It was all so fun. But what made it most impressive is that we were always out until about 2 a.m. the night before, celebrating New Year's Eve with family friends. I don't know how my parents did it!"
Kate Winslow, Recipe Developer
Ingredients
- 1½ cups pitted prunes
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 (4 to 5-pound) boneless pork loin
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 pounds sauerkraut, drained
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1½ pounds kielbasa, cut into 4-inch lengths
Instructions
- Combine the prunes and white wine in a small skillet over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let sit to soak and cool.
- To make a hole in the roast, insert a long, thin, sharp knife into the middle of one end of the loin, then repeat at the opposite end to make an incision that runs lengthwise through the center of the roast. Working from both ends, use your fingers to enlarge the hole to create about a 1-inch opening. Pack about half of the prunes into the pork, pushing them from both ends toward the center (reserve the remaining prunes and wine.) Pat the pork dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mustard and thyme. Rub all over the pork. Lay the pork in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Scatter the sauerkraut and remaining prunes and wine all around the pork. Scatter the onions over the pork. Cover and cook on low heat for about 2 hours.
- Add the kielbasa to the slow cooker, pushing it down into the sauerkraut if possible. Cover and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the roast registers 150°F, 3-4 hours more. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and cover loosely with foil for about 5 minutes (sauerkraut and kielbasa can stay in the slow cooker until ready to serve).
- Slice the pork and serve with the kielbasa and sauerkraut.
- Combine the prunes and white wine in a small skillet over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let sit to soak and cool.
- To make a hole in the roast, insert a long, thin, sharp knife into the middle of one end of the loin, then repeat at the opposite end to make an incision that runs lengthwise through the center of the roast. Working from both ends, use your fingers to enlarge the hole to create about a 1-inch opening. Pack about half of the prunes into the pork, pushing them from both ends toward the center (reserve the remaining prunes and wine.) Pat the pork dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mustard and thyme. Rub all over the pork. Lay the pork in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Scatter the sauerkraut and remaining prunes and wine all around the pork. Scatter the onions over the pork. Cover and cook on low heat for about 2 hours.
- Add the kielbasa to the slow cooker, pushing it down into the sauerkraut if possible. Cover and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the roast registers 150°F, 3-4 hours more. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and cover loosely with foil for about 5 minutes (sauerkraut and kielbasa can stay in the slow cooker until ready to serve).
- Slice the pork and serve with the kielbasa and sauerkraut.