rolled & tied pork tenderloin

so this is a copy mostly of a recipe i saw in some italian cookbook, and i remember making it for the first time for a new years eve dinner that we had here. back maybe 20 years ago or so. the stuffing or filling can be as changeable as whatever cold cuts and cheese you have in your house. first time i made this it was a large enough roll of meat - maybe it was beef - that i had a hard-boiled egg in the middle so when you cut the slices, everybody had a little sun in the middle of the meat. i believe that first recipe was probably in gourmet magazine. anyway i made it again and wrote it down in my notebook in september 2007. then i used mortadella, salami, and provolone. this time, tonight 2-20-10, i used smoked ham instead of the salami, plus the other two ingredients. in addition, i slathered the inside of the two butterflied tenderloins with grey poupon dijon mustard. just enough to flavor it, and add a little moisture. then a thin layer of mortadella, then the ham, then the provolone. then roll it up tight and tie it. refrigerate until 1 hour before cook time.

so to assemble the roll: two pork tenderloins, close to the same size and weight. remove the silverskin and trim the ends to match up. season with your house dry rub, all sides. refrigerate for a half a day at least. remove from fridge. butterfly from the side so that you wind up with a piece of meat about 8-9 inches long, about 4-5 inches wide, and about a half-inch or less thick. set the two tenderloins next to each other on a clean cutting board or counter. fit them together into a pretty even rectangle, with a slight overlap. cut your butcher's twine into 5 pieces each about 15 inches long. slide under the meat into 5 equidistant places. roll the meat as tight as you can, making sure to pick up the 2nd tenderloin half-way through. tie the first string in the middle, tight as you can. good time for a third hand. finish tying up the meat roll. cut horizontally into 5 pieces. each should have a string around the middle. the slices will be an inch or two thick. 

in your skillet, heat a small amount of evoo. when hot, add the slices you want to cook. you should hear a real good sizzle when you put them in the pan. if not, your pan isn't hot enough. heat the friggin pan! so after about 4 minutes of not moving the meat around, you should have a real good sear on the bottom; done so you can keep the melting cheese inside the meat. flip it over, another 3 minutes or so, still sizzling real good. then into your preheated 350 degree oven. set timer for 12-13 minutes. when it buzzes, take a look. if you think it needs another 2 minutes, put it back in. i would say 15 minutes maximum though. out of oven, to the plate. let it sit for a minimum of 5 minutes before you serve.

served with sauteed crimini mushrooms and piquillo pepper strips. and tempranillo. oh yeah