Stuffed Pork Belly Rollade with Chestnut & Apricot Filling (Wrapped in Bacon)

A festive, comforting, from-scratch centrepiece made with real ingredients and a whole lot of love.

If you’re looking for a truly memorable roast—something rustic, festive, and irresistibly flavourful—this Stuffed Pork Belly Rollade with chestnuts and apricots is the one. It’s the kind of dish that fills your kitchen with warmth, slow-cooked aromas, and that magical “is it ready yet?” suspense.

Making Stuffed Pork Belly Rollade with Chestnut & Apricot Filling (Wrapped in Bacon)

In this recipe, we take a beautiful slab of pork belly, fill it with a savoury-sweet mixture of roasted chestnuts, dried apricots, thyme, and buttery caramelised onions. Then we wrap the whole thing in bacon and roast it until the core reaches the perfect tenderness and the outside becomes beautifully crisp.

It’s the star of any holiday table, Sunday gathering, or cosy dinner when you want to treat the people you love.

Serves:

2 rollades, each serves 8 people

Time to Prepare:

1 h

Time to cook or cure:

1,5 h

Skill

Stuffing, trussing and roasting

Serves:

2 rollades, serving 8 people each

Time to Prepare:

1.5 h

Time to cook or cure:

1.5 h

Skills:

Stuffing, trussing and roasting

Ingredients & Tools

Ingredients

1 whole pork belly (approx. 25 × 40 cm / 10 × 16 in), makes 2 rolls
600 g (1.3 lbs) breakfast bacon slices
1 kg (2.2 lbs) minced meat, 50% pork & 50% beef
2 handfuls roasted chestnuts (about 200 g / 7 oz)
2 white onions, finely diced
1 handful dried apricots, roughly chopped
2 heaped tsp dried thyme
1 tsp black pepper
10 g (2 tsp) salt + salt to sprinkle on belly before rolling
1 large egg
Butter for sautéing onions

Tools

Sharp knife
Cutting board
Roasting tray with grid
Sauté pan
Aluminium foil
Kitchen string for trussing
Meat thermometer

Useful guidelines

Choosing the Meat

Ask your butcher to remove the skin and ribs, and to keep the piece as rectangular and even in thickness as possible. Keep the skin! It becomes beautiful crackling or can be stored for later.

Why Mix the Filling Well?

Mixing vigorously develops the proteins, helping the filling bind. Without this step, it crumbles when slicing.

Make Ahead Option

This rollade can be assembled up to 1 day in advance. Keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.

Directions

To make this Stuffed Pork Belly Rollade with Chestnut & Apricot Filling (Wrapped in Bacon) simply follow these instructions

Instructions

Roast the Chestnuts

Score the chestnuts and soak in water for 10 minutes.
Roast at 200°C / 400°F for 20–30 minutes until cooked through.
Let them cool, then peel.
Roughly chop and set aside.

Sauté the Onions

In a generous knob of butter, sauté the diced onions over medium heat.
Cook until soft, sweet, and lightly golden.
Set aside to cool.

Prepare the Pork Belly

Trim the pork belly to 25 × 40 cm (10 × 16 in).
Slice lengthwise into two equal pieces.
Keep the trimmings—we’ll use them for gravy in the next video.
Keep pork refrigerated while preparing the filling.

Optional: If making crackling, prick the skin all over with a needle and refrigerate it uncovered for 12 hours to dry.

Make the filling

In a large bowl, combine:
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) pork/beef mince
- chopped chestnuts
- chopped apricots
- sautéed onions
- 1 egg
- thyme
- pepper
- salt
Mix really well until the proteins bind. No half-hearted mixing here!
Refrigerate the filling for at least 15 minutes.

Build the Bacon Mat

Lay a sheet of aluminium foil on your counter.
Arrange the bacon strips so each slightly overlaps the next.
Leave enough bacon at both ends for sealing the roll later.

Assemble the Rollade

Lay one trimmed pork belly piece onto the bacon mat.
Shape half the filling into a long sausage down the centre.
Make sure the filling is even with no large air pockets.
Roll the belly over the filling, using the foil to help you lift and wrap.
Ensure the bacon overlaps neatly to seal the rollade.
Truss with kitchen string to hold its shape.

Repeat with the second roll.

Roast the Rollade

Preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F.
Place rollades seam-side down in a roasting tray.
Roast until the core temperature reaches 70°C / 160°F.
Remove foil, increase heat to 220°C / 430°F, and roast for 10 more minutes until the bacon is crisp and golden.
Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serving Suggestions

Drizzle generously with homemade gravy (next video!).
Serve with roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, or a winter salad.
Crisp crackling on the side if you prepared the skin.

Storing the Rollade

Place this ready rolled raw rollade in the fridge overnight before your festivities.

Or if you wanted you could also freeze them in an air tight vacuum bag up to 4 months.

Fridge: 3–4 days, tightly wrapped.
Freezer: Raw Up to 4 months
Cooked up to 2 months, slice first for easy reheating).
Reheat: 160°C / 320°F until warmed through.