Cervelas Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Typically you see recipes for a sausage stuffed pork tenderloin and not a sausage wrapped pork tenderloin. The sausage we use is seasoned with quatre epices — or four spices: white pepper, ginger, nutmeg, and clove — and is a pretty traditional French sausage. The process may seem time-consuming, but every step guarantees the sausage will adhere to the pork. We recommend grinding the pork shoulder and pork fat yourself, but you can buy ground pork — just be sure it has a high fat ratio.

Cervelas Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
serves about 3 people for a full pork tenderloin

shopping list —

• pork tenderloin

• quatre epice sausage

• RM meat glue (optional, but for best results)

for the sausage —

• 2# pork shoulder

• 2/3# pork fat

• 26 grams salt

• 4 grams quatre epices (see below)

• 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

for the quatre epices —

• 2 parts ground white pepper

• 1 part ground ginger

• 1 part ground nutmeg

• 1 part ground cloves

equipment —

• meat grinder

• circulator

• mixing bowl or stand mixer

• plastic wrap

• kitchen towel

• cast iron pan or skillet

steps —

1. Cut the pork shoulder and pork fat into strips and grind through a meat grinder. Alternatively, you can also use ground pork but buy 70/30 or 80/20 at the leanest as the sausage needs fat.

2. Mix the quatre epices with the salt. Add the spice mixture to the meat and mix until you have a tacky consistency. You can do this in a stand mixture — just be sure not to over-mix. The meat should be bound together in a mass and when you pick it up it should have a sticky/tacky feeling.

   — You want to develop the myosin, a protein in meat that will create a “gel” when mixed with salt (think of it similar to gluten when mixing bread dough). With too little myosin (under-mixing), fat and liquid will be lost and you’ll have crumbly sausage, and too much (over-mixing) and you’ll end up with a rubbery texture.

3. Clean the pork tenderloin by removing any fat and silver skin.

4. Season the pork tenderloin with salt.

5. Get a kitchen towel damp and wipe down the counter so the plastic wrap lays nicely on the counter. Lay out the plastic wrap - the length needs to be longer than the pork tenderloin by a few inches on either sides (use two overlapping strips if needed) and wide enough to wrap the tenderloin.

6. Spread out an even layer of the sausage onto the plastic wrap. Once again, it needs to be as wide as your pork tenderloin and as long as your tenderloin to get it to wrap evenly. (You may not need all of the sausage. Freeze if desired for other recipes.)

   — You can also use meat glue to ensure the sausage sticks to the tenderloin. We use RM meat glue. Lightly dust the sausage with the meat glue and then add the tenderloin.

7. Place the pork tenderloin in the center of the sausage and using the plastic wrap roll the sausage around the pork tenderloin (similar to making a sushi roll), making sure you don’t roll the plastic wrap in with the sausage. Twist the ends tight and tie them with butcher’s twine. Allow to rest in the fridge overnight.

8. Poach the tenderloin in a circulator at 55ºC for 5 minutes to set the sausage. Remove from the circulator and straight into an ice bath to shock the tenderloin so it doesn’t keep cooking.

9. Once cold, unwrap the plastic from the tenderloin.

10. Preheat the oven to 350º.

11. Heat a cast iron or sauté pan until very hot and add neutral oil. Sear the pork on all sides, turning often to create an even browning. Finish the pork tenderloin in the oven until the center reaches 140º, rotating to allow the pork to evenly cook. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.