This incredible dish is known in Serbia as punjena vešalica, and is a Serbian preparation of a stuffed and grilled 2-pound-ish section of pork loin. When I prepared this before earlier this year, I found it to honestly be the best pork-loin-specific recipe that I've ever tried - at home or dining out. It also has the advantage of being very easy to prepare, making it one of those dishes that give incredible bang for the buck in terms of flavour and WOW factor with dinner guests.

It is still summer here and I haven't had nearly enough opportunities to do any barbecue or grilling this year, so this will hopefully inspire me to get it done and complete a pictorial, which I wasn't able to do the first time I made it.

Here is the recipe for punjena vešalica, which came to me by way of Brook (HistoricFoodie) via Steve Raichlen's Planet Barbecue (Brook's comments in parentheses):

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Serbian Stuffed Pork Loin

1 piece center-cut pork loin, about 2 lbs
3 ounces (3 to 4 slices) smoky country-style bacon (I use European slab bacon, and barely cook it)
Coarse salt and pepper
3 tablespoons Dijon style mustard (Whole grain mustard works nicely too)
3 ounce thinly-sliced smoky ham
2 ounces piquant cheese, such as Edam, Gouda, or Provolone, grated or thinly sliced (My choice is Provolone, to carry through the smoky flavor profile)

Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned and just beginning to crisp. Drain on paper towels.

Generously season the inside of the pork loin with salt and pepper and spread the mustard over it. Arrange the bacon over the bottom half of the open pork loin. Places the slices of ham on top of the bacon, followed by the cheese. Fold the top half of the loin back over the bottom piece. Season the outside of the loin with salt and pepper. If you like, secure the edges with toothpicks or tie the loin with kitchen twine. (I highly recommend this, especially the first time or two, until you develop a feel for turning a package like this.)

Set up the grill for direct cooking and preheat it to medium-high. Brush the grate with oil. Set the loin diagonally to the bars and grill until well browned and cooked to medium; the cheese should be melted and sizzling, 6-8 minutes per side.

If you want a cross-hatch of grill marks, cook the first side four minutes, then turn it diagonally in the other direction for the rest of the cooking time. Repeat after flipping.

Note that this recipe employs a butterflied pork loin section; Brook offered some tips and tricks for butterflying a pork loin, including Raichlen's description of the Serbian method for butterflying a pork loin:

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To Butterfly a Pork Loin

For some reason, this rather easy technique seems to intimidate many people. Or perhaps it's the badly written instructions they've read? Whatever. Butterflying a loin only involvs three knife cuts:

Lay the loin on a cutting board, fat-cap up. It may help if you orient the loin so the end faces you, and the length of it points away. Center your knife the long way on the loin and cut halfway through it. Turn the knife so it is parallel to the cutting board and cut almost through the loin. You should stop the cut so there is a "hinge" of meat at least 1/2 inch thick. Repeat cutting the flap on the other side.

Open the loin like a book so it lies flat. Sometime this requires a little judicious knife work on the hinges, but don't go overboard.
Sandwich the opened loin between two pieces of plastic film and, with a meat mallet, pound it out so it is as even as you can make it and about 1/2 inch thick.

Serbian Method: According to Raichlen, in Serbia they butterfly a little differently. Starting at the thin end of the loin, center your knife parallel to the cutting board, and split the loin almost in half, leaving a half-inch hinge. Open it up and pound it into a flat sheet half an inch thick. If you go this route you'll have more evenly sized slices when you cut the roast.

When I tried this back in May, I used a section at the "thin" end of a pork loin that was a little over a pound, which I butterflied in the Serbian fashion, pounded and stuffed. For the stuffing, I used thick-sliced somed bacon, following the instructions to cook it only until it was just done and not much further. I also used a thin-sliced, deli-style smoked ham of good quality. For the cheese, I used provolone, thinking that it would probably be closest to the creamy white, flavourful cheeses that might be found in the region. The mustard used was a dark, stone-ground German-style mustard that seemed to work really well with the rest of the flavours that were in the party.

I then tied the stuffed loin (rather clumsily, I must admit) and grilled it over charcoal and wood on my Weber Kettle; I followed the cooking times pretty closely, maybe adding only a minute or two per side until I got the deep-golden, grilled colour I felt was right. The sear was incredible, providing a crusty, savory, mouth-watering exterior that was a perfect introduction to the smoky,juicy, tender interior that was exploding with all of the flavours that are guaranteed to bring out the carnivore in anyone.

I didn't take any photos, since the loin was half the size of a full recipe, and I had a couple of minor execution issues that affected the looks but not the taste. With luck, I will rectify that situation this coming Saturday, and will share those photos here as well in a new pictorial in the Balkan section.

This was unbeliveably good, and I really think that it has the potential to be one of the best pork loin dishes a person could try. Please, give it a shot - with the simple ingredients and ease of preparation, there's really no excuse not to!

Sounds absolutely delicious! If you can post some pics that would be great!!

You inspired me. Cooked this recipe tonite and it was fantastic. Added a little pecan smoke inbetween flipping it. I hope to do it w/ some wild hog in the future.
Thank you

Sounds amazing Tas. I am hooked.

Many thanks, guys - TK, I'm glad you tried it, even more glad that you liked it! It really is something good, for sure.

I did make this over the weekend and it was indeed as delicious the 2nd time as it was the 1st. I took some photos and will post them when I can.

If anyone wants to try this and has any quesitons, just let me know.

One of my favorite seasonings was called Serbian pork seasoning, in a Frugal Gourmet cookbook. It is 3 parts salt, 2 parts sugar, 2 parts fennel seed, 1 part black pepper, one part white pepper. I usually add one part onion powder. Grind this together in an old blender style coffee mill. Really nice flavor! Would go nicely in this recipe. Nice on roast pork, or spare ribs.

That does sound good, Lanny - I'll copy it down and give it a try the next time I make this....

now ya went and did it.....just as I was starting on my diet.....LOL

vapo! good to see ya!

do give this a try - being pork loin, it's not all that unhealthy....

Tas, I am cooking it again this weekend for a group of (10) hunters.
Decided to do a his & hers.
The his will contain Devine bleu cheese
The hers will contain Devine baby Swiss
And, I found the twine at the store

sounds great! good luck and let us know how you did - post a photo or two, if you can!

Tas,

The hers was very good, but the his was great. TK is one hell of a cook.

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Originally posted by Raider2k3:
Tas,

The hers was very good, but the his was great. TK is one hell of a cook.

excellent! glad you guys ahd a good time, and that this little dish helped a little to add to the experience. it's a really easy, yet delicious thing that can as you discovered be tweaked around for the occasion.

enjoy!