Pork Fillet Wrapped in Bacon

Roast pork fillet wrapped in bacon is flavoured with thyme leaves and packed with flavour. This easy pork fillet recipe looks impressive on any dinner table, but is surprisingly simple to prepare and cook.

Bacon wrapped pork fillet is the dish I serve when I don't have time to cook. It makes a great Sunday roast, I make regularly when entertaining family and friends, and it makes a quick mid week dinner too.

When making bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, I wrap it in smoked streaky bacon, this not only adds flavour, but an extra layer of protection to the lean pork meat. The fat on the bacon bastes the pork while it is cooking, keeping it moist.

Recipe ingredients

• Pork fillet (tenderloin) - I use a 450 pork fillet to serve 2 diners.
• Bacon - I like to used smoked streaky bacon as it adds an extra layer of flavour to the pork.
• Seasoning - I season the pork with black pepper.
• Oil - I rub the pork fillet with olive oil. You can use any other light flavoured oil.
• Herbs - I've opted for fresh thyme leaves which pair really well with the flavour of the pork.

How to make pork fillet wrapped in bacon

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180CFan/390F.
• Prepare the pork fillet by removing any fat and sinew. Leave the fillet whole and season with pepper (do not add salt as the smoked bacon will add salt to the dish).
• Lay the streaky bacon flat out on a board with the edges touching lengthways. 
• Remove the leaves from the sprigs of thyme and mix with the olive oil in a pestle and mortar, bruising the thyme leaves to release their oil. Rub this oily mixture over the entire pork fillet then place the fillet directly onto the bacon slices.

• Wrap the bacon around the pork fillet to ensure that the pork is covered, leaving no gaps.
• Place the bacon wrapped fillet on a baking tray and cook in the pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches between 63C/145F (medium rare) and 70C/160F (medium).

• Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

TOP TIP: Note that cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of the pork fillet.

Recipe variations

• Bacon - I used smoked bacon, but you can swap this for unsmoked streaky bacon, or even a maple cured sweeter bacon. However, if not using smoked bacon you will need to season the pork fillet with a little sea salt.
• Bacon Substitutes - I have also used thinly sliced strips of pancetta and also thin slices of Parma ham to wrap the pork fillet in, if that's all I have in my fridge. What you are looking for is something to protect the pork fillet and add just a little saltiness to the sweet pork meat.
• Fresh Herbs - I've used fresh thyme leaves, but you can swap for other herbs, like some shredded sage leaves, or freshly chopped rosemary or parsley.
• Seasoning - I've kept the seasoning simple, but feel free to add some ground spices like cumin, smoked paprika or coriander.

Serving suggestions

Pork works really well with green vegetables like cabbage; broccoli and peas. Try my Savoy Cabbage with Bacon & Cider or Creamed Brussels Sprouts. For potatoes I love it served with my Mustard Mash, or these Fried Potatoes with Garlic & Thyme.

It also works well with Braised Red Cabbage, the acidity of the vinegar cutting through the smoky bacon. As I have the oven on anyway I often cook Honey Roasted Root Vegetables.

This roast pork dish also works well with a couple of salad sides, try my Warm Potato Salad with Wild Garlic and Sprout Slaw with Apple & Radish.

Useful hints and tips

1. Take time to properly prepare the pork fillet, removing any excess fat and sinew. By doing this you will end up with a far more tender cut of pork that is not in any way chewy.
2. Pork fillet is a very lean meat, there is very little to no fat on this cut. For that reason you need to take real care not to overcook it.
3. Cooking times will vary depending on the size and thickness of the pork fillet.
4. I recommend using a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pork fillet which needs to be between 63C/145F (medium rare) and 70C/160F (medium).
5. Allow the pork to rest for 5-10 minutes, before slicing and serving. The meat will still continue to rise internally as it rests. It will also absorb any juices back into joint, resulting in tender and moist pieces of pork.
6. Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of these recipes:

• How to Roast a Turkey Crown
• Slow Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling
• Roast Leg of Pork stuffed with Bacon & Cranberries
• Sirloin Steak with Mushrooms & Madeira
• Roast Guinea Fowl with Rich Chicken Jus
• Pan-fried Chicken with Bacon & Beans

For other suggestions for easy family dinners, read my Easy Family Dinners post where you'll find a variety of recipes and some useful hints and tips.