Pork Roast Orloff

Link to printable version

My Mom used to make this recipe at home, and we would call it "Rôti de porc à la paysanne", or Peasant Pork roast in English. However, after researching about this recipe, it turned out it's actually called a Pork roast Orloff. Regardless of how it's actually called, this is one of the easiest and most delicious way of enjoying a pork loin.

This recipe is a variation of an old classic recipe from the Franco-Russian repertoire, the Veal Orloff. It was created by the French chef Urbain Dubois, who worked for the Russian ambassador in France, Prince Alexeï Fiodorovitch Orlov during the 19th century. Originally, a boneless veal loin would be sliced, and filled with a layer of mushroom and onion mash between slices.

This variation uses pork instead of veal, and is layered with bacon and cheese slices. Sounds good already doesn't it ? 

Most of the time, when we do this recipe here in Ireland, we use Emmental slices because it's a cheese we enjoy and it's easy enough to find in store. Back in France, my Mom used Mimolette cheese, and since we were able to bring some back from our holiday there, we will be using this one. Feel free to swap for any cheese you prefer (Emmental, matured Cheddar, or Gouda will work out nicely), or try to get some Mimolette in specialized shops. 

This recipe is really quite simple. Usually, we would slice the loin multiple times from the top-side, halfway through and stuff the gaps with bacon rasher, slices of cheese and it would go in the oven without tying. The blog of Sandrinita is showing clearly how to do it this way. Here, we'll be "butterflying" the roast in order to have it unfolded and flat, than we'll stuff it, roll it back, and, to finish, we'll be tying it so it keeps a neat shape. So, if you're not fully comfortable with tying or butterflying the loin, you may find these steps a bit daunting, but feel free to check out YouTube for tutorials on how to unfold and tie a pork loin, or simply skip these steps and make the traditional slice. 

It was our very first time butterflying the pork loin, and after cooking, we noticed that part of the mimolette melted out of the roll, so we would advice to slice the cheese thinner so the roll is tighter. We also think that if you're using Emmental cheese, you won't have this problem since this cheese tend to stay in place when melted. Still, the final result was absolutely delicious ! We honey roasted some baby potatoes, carrots, and parsnip to serve on the side. 

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30 minutes

1h30 minutes + 10 minutes resting

4

Ingredients

For the roast
1 Pork loin joint (≃1 kilo)
300 grams of mimolette cheese
6 slices of bacon rashers
1 large onion
30 grams of butter
Sprig of fresh Rosemary

For the sides
600 grams of baby potatoes
3 large carrots
2 large parsnips
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Sprig of fresh Rosemary
1 tablespoon of clear honey

Cookware :
Kitchen twine
Roasting tray

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Butterfly your pork loin

>> With a sharp knife, butterfly your pork loin as shown in the pictures below. Start by turning your loin so the fat side is on your board and the skin facing up, than slowly cut the meat and "unfold" it. If you are not comfortable with butterflying meat, check YouTube for a more detailed tutorial on how to butterfly a pork loin.
>> Make sure the pork is as flat as possible, and it has an equal thickness. You may use a meat tenderizer to help you.

Stuff the pork loin
>> Start by layering the bacon rashers over the whole surface of the meat.
>> Cut your mimolette cheese into thin slices, and peel the rind.
>> Layer your cheese over the bacon and stop about 2cm from the end, so you can gently tuck the meat.

Roll & tie the pork loin

>> Roll back your pork loin, starting from the end without the fat. Here is the tricky part, roll it tight enough so everything stays in place, but not too tight so the filling doesn't squeeze out of the roll.

>> Using a piece of kitchen twine, the length depending on your piece of meat, start tying the loin. Here again, don't tie it too tight or the filling might squeeze out. Again, if you are not comfortable with tying the meat, check out YouTube for plenty of detailed tutorials.
>> Unlike the pictures below, don't forget to tie your rosemary with the loin.

Cooking time !

We'll be giving the temperature and timings to cook our loin as advised from our butcher, so it may need to be adjusted for your piece of meat.
>> Preheat the oven to 220°C for a fan assisted over - or 240°C without the fan.
>> Cut the onion in large skunks, and layer your roasting tray with them.
>> Place your pork roll on the tray, and sprinkle some diced butter over it.
>> Cook the pork for 30 minutes at this heat, then reduce the temperature to 160°C fan (or 180°C without fan) and cook for an additional 30 minutes per 500 grams.
>> Our loin was just over 1 kilogram, so we'll keep it in the oven for an extra hour.

Get your vegetables ready
>> While your pork is cooking, start cutting your carrots, parsnips and potatoes.
>> Bring a large sauce pan filled with salted water to boil and cook your potatoes for 5 mins. Drain them and let them cool.
>> In a large bowl, put all your vegetables, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and some fresh rosemary.
>> Mix them around until evenly coated and place them onto a roasting tray.
>> Once you've reduced the heat of your oven as indicated above, place your veggies to roast about 30-35 minutes before the pork loin is done.
>> 10 minutes before the end, drizzle a tablespoon of clear honey onto them and place them back in to the oven.

Once your pork roast is cooked, leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving for a superb depth of flavour !