Roast Pork with Apples & Onions

[cougars_catnip]

This is a favorite autumn meal. Brining the pork insures your roast is juicy, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned all the way through and is an essential part of this dish so don't skip this step.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless whole pork loin roast (2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 large baking apples, cut into wedges
• 2 large onions, cut into wedges
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 c. butter
  

25

Brine

3/4 cup kosher salt (DO NOT use regular white table salt!)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon mustard powder (do not use prepared mustard!)
2 cups cider vinegar (heated until hot)'
1 lb ice cube Directions:

1 In a large plastic container with a lid, put the salt, Brown Sugar, peppercorns and mustard powder; add in the HOT vinegar and swirl to dissolve the sugar and salt completely.
2 Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes at room temperature to develop flavor.
3 Add in the ice cubes and shake to melt most of the ice.
4 Add in the pork roast, making certain that the meat is completely covered with the brine.
5 Cover with lid and refrigerate for 2 - 10 hours (NO MORE than 10 hours!).
6 Rinse the pork well under cold water before cooking.

Directions

Brine Roast according to above recipe then ....

• In a large nonstick skillet, brown roast in oil on all sides. Place in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray.
• Position a probe thermometer in the thickest part of the roast and set the alarm to go off when the roast reaches 140 deg.
• Arrange the apples, onions and garlic around roast; sprinkle with rosemary and salt & pepper, dot with butter.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-60 minutes or until a thermometer reads 140° ( carryover heat will take it the last five degrees while it rests), turning the apples, onions and garlic once. Let meat stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
• Yield: 8 servings.

Serve with salad, crusty bread, and baked butternut or acorn squash.

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Alternate Brine

Maple Brine for Pork

78.07 ml kosher salt (use ONLY Kosher salt!)
177.44 ml sugar
236.59 ml maple syrup
44.37 ml Dijon mustard
4.92-9.85 ml dried red pepper flakes
118.29 ml gin
2.46 ml whole cloves
59.14 ml fresh rosemary, chopped
10-12 garlic cloves, minced (or smashed)
29.58 ml chopped fresh ginger
1892.72 ml water ( I use a bag of ice to cool brine rapidly. )
10-12 thick-cut pork chops (center cut, about 1-1/2 inch thick) or one pork loin roast

American measurements

1/3 cup kosher salt (use ONLY Kosher salt!)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 -2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/2 cup gin
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped
10 -12 garlic cloves, minced (or smashed)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
8 cups water ( I use a bag of ice to cool brine rapidly. )
10 -12 thick-cut pork chops (center cut, about 1-1/2 inch thick) or one pork loin roast

Directions:
1 Mix all the brine ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil.
2 Turn off heat and stir the brine well with a spoon to insure the sugar, salt and maple syrup has dissolved.
3 Let the brine cool, then place brine in a large glass dish or bowl.
4 Add in pork chops (making certain that all the chops are covered completely with brine).
5 Cover and refrigerate for NO MORE than 10 hours.
6 Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry without rinsing.
7 Season the pork with pepper ONLY (do not season with salt they are salty enough from the brine!).
8 Grill or cook as desired.

Comments

[lorax]

We have the worst time trying to find ways to cook pork in my household because no one likes the same thing. I think this might actually work for everyone, so I think I'll give it a try. Thanks!