Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing

This Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing was prepared on a smoker grill.  Moist pork tenderloin with homemade sauerkraut stuffing, wrapped in bacon and cooked low and slow on a Traeger smoker grill.  

Grilling season doesn’t always have to mean the same ‘ol same ‘ol.   Sure burgers and brats are great — but what about adding a little something special to your menu?  This Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing is sure to grab everyone’s attention!

This post is sponsored by Frank’s Kraut, but my lifelong love of their amazing sauerkraut is all my own.

Yes, my friends, grilling season is upon us.  But that doesn’t mean you have to get bored with what you grill.  Adding Frank’s Kraut to your grilling recipes is sure to give them just that zip they need.  This Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin is one for the recipe books.  I prepared this a couple of Sundays ago, and holy smokes was it amazing! 

^LOVE it? PIN it!^

Cooking on an Electric Smoker Grill:

Any chance we get to use our Traeger grill, we jump on it.  I love that you can use it as a smoker or just a grill.  The best part about it?  It doesn’t fire up and burn your food.  It’s electric, and you cook with it similarly to how you bake in an oven.  Change out the pellets for the flavor, set it and practically forget it.  

Especially when you make things that are fattier, or have a lot of bacon like this pork loin.  You need to be careful using a regular grill when all of that grease is involved.  But that’s not to say you shouldn’t try it on your grill, I have instructions for that, too! 

Before we get to wrapping that pork loin in bacon though, we first need to talk about this stuffing that I made.  Oh, my, my!! It was scrumptious.  Super easy to toss together too.  

Ingredients in Sauerkraut Stuffing:

• Frank’s Kraut
• onion and celery
• rye bread crumbs
• fresh parsley, caraway seed, ground sage
• salt & pepper
• chicken stock
• Swiss cheese

When I dreamt up this recipe, I thought about what I would put in the stuffing.  I have a favorite stuffing recipe that I use when I stuff a turkey – It’s my Mom’s Sausage & Sage Stuffing, and it’s my go to.  My favorite.  So,  I thought about what I wanted to use and used some of my favorite components of her dressing.  I knew it had to have celery, onion and sage. 

I wasn’t going to add any meat to it, as our pork loin was already going to be bacon wrapped.  I typically use a seasoned crouton for my Mom’s recipe, but rye bread crumbs seemed to make more sense with this one.  

The day before, I had made my Crockpot Reuben Dip to take to a party, and had leftover rye toasts.  Brilliant!  I laid them on my counter to dry out a bit, then chopped them into cubes.  

The stuffing gets all mixed together, and then it’s time to cut open the pork loin and stuff it.  I had a pretty large pork loin, a little over 5 pounds.  This made about 8 cups of stuffing, and I used about 6. 

I took the excess and wrapped it in foil and placed it on the grill for about 30 minutes.  No sense in wasting all of that yumminess!

From this angle the loin looks a little bumpy when it’s cut open.  It doesn’t matter though, because you have those crevices to fill with stuffing.  Then it gets rolled up and “ta-da!” It’s perfect. 

I found this great video on youtube that shows how to cut the pork loin for stuffing.  If you have never done one before, it’s really educational to watch. 

Evenly spread the stuffing over the top of the loin, leaving one edge clean about an inch back, as pictured here. 

Roll the pork loin tightly, finishing with the side that has the one inch edge. 

Lay a couple of pieces of plastic wrap down and lay your bacon pieces edge to edge.  Give them a little tug to stretch them out a bit as you lay them out.  Place your loin on top of the bacon, right in the middle. 

Lift the plastic wrap up and over, pressing down, then do the same on the other side.  Remove the plastic wrap. Carefully roll to put the bacon seam side down. 

Next we will tie the bacon wrapped  pork loin with butchers twine to keep all of that sauerkraut goodness inside.  I have made this both using the foil and not using the foil.  Both ways work, just know that if you do, that end part on top won’t brown.  So for presentation purposes, leave it off if that makes a difference.  

The foil method:

Fold foil a couple of times to make it a nice strong strip.  Slip it underneath the loin, directly in the middle, and fold up around the edges.  It’ll help keep the stuffing inside.  

Using only Butchers Twine:

Of course, it’s not necessary.  Either way, double up your butcher’s twine and tie one piece from end to end.  Then tie the short way every 1 1/2 inches or so.  I made 7 more ties on mine.  

Preheat your grill to 325 degrees. Place the loin directly on the grates of your smoker.  Notice that fresh drip pan underneath.  

Ours took about 3 hours to be completely done.  The internal temperature of a pork loin needs to reach between 145 and 160 degrees in the center to be done.  

Look how pretty it is! Can I tell you just how amazing it smelled??  

We served it with broccolini.  It was devoured by everyone!

I know if you’re reading this recipe, that you are a fan of Kraut like we are.  But if you have never tried Frank’s Kraut, I urge you to change that.  I can tell you without hesitation, it is the best I have ever eaten. 

I always keep cans on hand in the pantry, but I have to say their 2 pound poly bags are my favorite way to buy it.   I store them in the freezer until I open them, and whatever I don’t use, I put into a canning jar, and store it in the fridge.  

Frank’s Kraut and I have been collaborating on recipes for 4 years now.  I am blessed to have partnered with them way back when, and I always look forward to creating something new with their amazing sauerkraut. 

Today, though, we are talking about grilling recipes, and I thought I would share some of the others I have done.

Grilling with Sauerkraut Recipes:

• Spicy Bacon Kraut Burger
• Creamy Kraut and Mushroom Noodles
• Brat Burgers
• Kraut Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Brats
• Reuben Burger
• Grilling Out with Frank’s Kraut

You can find many fantastic sauerkraut recipes here on my blog, as well as on the Frank’s Kraut Website.  I even have a Pinterest Board dedicated just to sauerkraut! 

You will be sure to find new and creative recipes year round at all of these places, and when you follow Frank’s Kraut on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Let’s get to this Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing recipe, shall we? 

Love Sauerkraut? Everything you always wanted to know about Kraut! Where it comes from, how it’s made and tons of Sauerkraut recipes in this Ultimate Guide to Sauerkraut. 

4.77 from 13 votes

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Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing

This Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing was prepared on a smoker grill.  Moist pork tenderloin with homemade sauerkraut stuffing, wrapped in bacon and cooked low and slow on a Traeger smoker grill.  

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Sauerkraut Stuffing

Servings: 12

Calories: 523kcal

Author: Michaela Kenkel

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• For the Stuffing:
• 4 cups dry Rye bread cut in cubes
• 1 cup Frank's Kraut
• ½ cup onion chopped
• ½ cup celery chopped
• 1 cup cubed Swiss cheese
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• ½ teaspoon caraway seed
• ½ teaspoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup chicken stock
• For the loin:
• 5-5.5 pound pork loin
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 pounds thick sliced bacon

Instructions

• To prepare the stuffing: Mix all ingredients together with your hands until well incorporated. Set Aside.
• To cut open the pork loin: find the tapered end of the loin, make a 1" cut at about a 45 degree angle. Turn your knife and continue to make 1" cuts as your loin unfolds.
• Salt and pepper both side of the loin. Spread the stuffing over the loin evenly, leaving one edge with a 1" bare edge. Roll tightly, finishing with the bare edge.
• Place a couple of sheets of plastic wrap on the counter. Place bacon pieces edge to edge on the plastic wrap. Give them a little stretch as you're laying them out.
• Place the loin directly in the center. Fold the one piece of plastic wrap around the loin, wrapping the bacon. Do the same with the other side. Remove the plastic wrap and carefully roll the loin over, seam side down.
• Using doubled up butcher's twine, tie your loin from end to end. Then tie every 1 1/2 inches or so.
• Using hickory pellets turn smoker to 325 degrees. When it's preheated for about 10 minutes, place loin directly on the grates. Cover and let smoke for 2 hours. Check temperature. Ours smoked for another hour, for 3 hours total. Pork should be 145-160 internally before eating.
• Remove twine and slice.

Notes

Any extra stuffing can be wrapped in a foil pouch and placed on the grill for about 35 minutes to serve as a side.

If you choose to make this on a regular grill, cook at the same temperature, but check it often as the bacon grease will cause it to fire up if you don't watch it. Check internal temperature often.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 695mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g