Winter can be a lonely time for a backyard pit jockey.

The surrounds are barren, nature’s activity and the sounds associated with them are muted, only available in short, fleeting bursts. Greenery has given way to the expected dormancy.

And the usual backyard conversations and laughter are all but non-existent. All of these better weather accompaniments have been moved indoors. But not the curling smoke of the wood fire. Like a faithful canine that is always at your side, the wood-fired smoke is available when needed, and on this day, it was needed in a most delectable way. For today, a pork roast will get a talking to with a sharp knife, stuffed with a tasty mixture, and smoked to perfection. We’re going to have Slow Smoked and Stuffed Pork Roast for our supper. So let’s get after it.

Our stuffing, since it has meat in it, needs to be precooked. The ingredients in this one are as follows, although you can use anything you want at this point.

We used granny smith apple, chopped red onion and shallots, spicy Italian sausage, celery, mushrooms, and stuffing mix with fresh parsley.

Cook the sausage, throw in the rest of the goodies,

And you have something that smells good enough to eat right then and there.

But that’s not what we’re here for today, now are we?

The pork roast is laid down and sliced so that it lays flat, best it can. Hey, no one is judging here. Hack away, I like to say. Spread the stuffing mixture out all over the flattened pork roast.

Roll the pork roast with the stuffing, and in your finest fifty shades of meat moment, tie that thing up so no stuffing can escape, hehe.

Now we’re cookin’. There’s going to be a lot of flavor in this pork, so I didn’t feel a need to season the outside, except a little bit of cracked pepper, and that’s just because I like to use a pepper grinder. True story.

The stuffed pork was ceremoniously carried out to the smoker, which was a respectable 200 degrees, and smelled of the applewood that was smoldering inside.

And now, we wait. As I stated above, winter can be a lonely time for a griller, but on the other hand, there’s something peaceful and serene about using a smoker in the winter. The combined aroma of the meat and wood smoke loiter around a little longer. When you breathe it in, along with the freshness of the winter air, you get a sense that somehow, this meal will be better than if it was done in the heat of the summer. It seems to be more anticipated somehow. And well, your beer doesn’t get warm, but hey, that’s just a sidenote. And with a four hour smoke in the works, the beer window has just opened.

After those hours have passed, and the temperature has reached the 155 degrees that I’m looking for, the time has come for the reveal. Along the way, the roast was mopped with apple juice, perhaps about once an hour. And then this happened.

Succulent, with an aroma that’s indescribable, if only to say, “Mmph, mmm, ymmm, nom”, but I was always told not to speak with my mouth full, so…

A quick slice gives an insider’s view to that beautiful stuffing that helped to keep this roast so moist and tender.

Almost a work of art, but not too pretty to eat.

Because Life Is Better Wood Fired