Delicious pork loin that’s wrapped in bacon is both juicy and flavorful. The bacon helps seal in moisture and my oven roasting method is foolproof.
Pork loin gets a reputation for being dry and hard to cook. To this statement, I would agree, unless you know how to cook pork loin really well. It’s easy to do, you roast in the oven until it’s just done, let it rest, and then return to a very hot oven to finish and get a nice crust. Bacon-wrapped pork loin is a great idea.
Video: Wrapping Pork Loin With Bacon
Cooking Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
Why is bacon-wrapped pork loin so smart? Because bacon adds flavor and fat. Wrapping a piece of meat that can easily be dry with bacon seals moisture into the meat. I also love doing this with pork tenderloin but note that pork loin and pork tenderloin are not the same thing, and are cooked differently.
Cooking bacon-wrapped pork loin is very easy, I just use the same method that I do to roast pork loin. Once you have the loin wrapped in bacon, you lay it into a roasting pan (I like this one) and it cooks at 350°F for about an hour and a half, or 20-25 minutes per pound.
The trick is to cook the loin until it’s 145°F internally, and then let it rest, covered in foil to further seal in the juices of the meat. To really brown the bacon and give the dish a nice crust, I place the meat back in the oven at 475°F or under the broiler for a bit to get that desired texture.
Safe Cooking Temperatures For Pork
The USDA’s recommendation for pork is to cook to an internal temperature of 145°F and that is what I prefer. It will be moist and slightly pink in the middle. For this recipe, I take my pork out of the oven when the internal temperature is 140°F and then as it rests it will rise up to the safe temperature.
If you know, however, that you prefer your pork to be fully white and well done, you can cook it a little longer. If you grew up with the old guideline of 160°F for pork, you may be more comfortable cooking till your instant read thermometer reaches 155-160°F. It won’t take much longer to get there, maybe 15 minutes more to the the first cook time (not 15 extra minutes per pound).
What To Serve With Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
This is a great dish to serve to guests because it’s pretty hands-off. Once you wrap the pork in the bacon, it stays in the roasting pan. While it cooks, you’re free to prep other dishes, tidy up, or mingle! Try serving with whole roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.
More Bacon Recipes
If you love bacon as much as I do, you have got to check out my favorite bacon recipes:
- Bacon Gravy
- How To Cook Bacon From Frozen
- Bacon-Wrapped Fillet Mignon
- Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
- Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
- Easy Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf
Podcast Episode: Making Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this pork loin, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintBacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Delicious pork loin that’s wrapped in bacon is both juicy and flavorful. The bacon helps seal in moisture and my oven roasting method is foolproof.
Ingredients
- 3–5 lb. pork loin roast
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 lb. bacon
- Roasting pan OR 3 celery ribs for cooking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Season pork roast all over with salt and pepper.
- Lay one piece of the bacon down under one end of the pork. Secure it with a toothpick, and wrap the bacon around the pork.
- Place the end of anther piece of bacon on top of the end of the first piece to hold it in place. Wind it around the roast. Secure strips of bacon with toothpicks, as needed. Repeat these steps until the entire loin is covered with bacon.
- Put the roast on a rack in a roasting pan. If you don’t have a rack use 3 stalks of celery lying side by side.
- Roast until internal temperature is 140°F, 20-25 minutes per pound.*
- Leave roast in roasting pan to rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 475°F. Uncover roast and remove the thermometer. Roast for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the toothpicks and carve and serve immediately.
Notes
*145°F is considered safe for pork according to the USDA. It will be moist and slightly pink in the center. If you prefer your pork fully white and well done, then cook till 155 – 160°F.
- You’ll notice I haven’t called for salt, I think the bacon adds plenty. However, feel free to add to taste after you serve.