A is for: Avon Prime Meats & Apple, Caramel Cornbread Stuffed Pork

Perhaps it’s my Montana roots or my rural upbringing (I grew up on a cattle ranch/wheat farm ’til the age of 5), or the fact that my Granddad once owned a butcher shop (Leon’s Lockers)… but I’m a sucker for a mom and pop grocery store with a quality meat counter.

So when Matt Cormier of Avon Prime Meats reached out to me via Twitter, I jumped at the opportunity to come check out his shop.

And then I was sad I didn’t do it sooner.

I was completely blown away.

It’s like Disney Land for foodies! Tons of local specialty products, an impressive prepared foods section (Matt has worked in restaurants previously), and of course some of the highest quality meats you’ll find in the area.

I immediately suggested collaborating on a post, and Matt insisted that wasn’t his intention for inviting me to the store. He said he just wanted to get me hooked so I would come back. Well, Matt, consider me officially a loyal customer!

He sent me home with some of their famous marinated steak tips, along with some other goodies from the store, and we brainstormed on a blog post. He told me another of their customer fall favorites is a caramel apple cornbread stuffed pork loin. Ummmmmm…. I was drooling. And with “A” coming around again on the blog, seemed like a match made in meat heaven.

Upon my return, Matt made me a delicious lunch and then we got to prepping. Actually, his butcher, Tim Hester, did all the work while I snapped some photos. (A nice change considering I usually do everything by myself!) There are two ways to do this. Start with a 3 pound pork loin. To do the butterfly method (which looks prettier to cut into once it’s cooked), follow the steps below. (Note: You will be cutting on the opposite side from the “tail,” which is pictured on the left side in the photo above…. so you would cut from the right hand side.)

Cutting from the end away from the “tail,” slice into the pork loin lengthwise about a third of the way up. (Be careful not to cut all the way through.) Open up like a book, and flatten. Then, starting in the crease of the “book,” make another slice so that it opens up a third time. (Top right). Once it’s opened and flattened out, you can start adding the goodies. Drizzle with caramel sauce and top with thinly sliced apples (the sauce will help “glue” the apples in place). Top with cornbread stuffing and carefully roll, taking care not to roll too tightly that the stuffing squishes out the ends. (Make sure the fat cap is facing up.)

Using butcher’s twine, tie the loin up to secure it. Tim says you want to make sure your knots are on the tail side (the side you didn’t cut into to butterfly it). He suggests tying the middle first, and then the two ends, then adding additional knots in the middle, which will help with keeping the stuffing inside of the loin. If you can do a slip knot, that will work the best.

An alternate way to do this is to cut a pocket in the top of the pork loin and stuff it that way. But I just love how the rolls look when you slice them, so I went for that. Shout out to Tim for doing all the work!

Season the entire outside of the pork loin with a mixture of salt, black pepper, and white pepper.

Bake in the oven at 375 for 30-35 minutes per pound (so about 1:30 to 1:45 for a 3 pound loin). Remove from oven when pork reaches a minimum internal temperature of 145F.

Cover the loin with aluminum foil, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes afterwards. Once it’s rested, slice and serve!