How long has it been? I’ve missed you! At the request of some of my followers and also due to lack of time, I’ve been posting simple recipes directly on Instagram. People enjoy simply clicking on a pic and finding the recipe directly in the app. Apparently going to my profile and clicking on a link isn’t direct enough anymore. lol  Although, with recipes like this one, it deserves a real blog post! Follow me on Instagram @vanillabeanmontreal for quick and easy meal ideas, lots of pics and restaurant reviews 😉 

Pork is so versatile it can of course be served savoury but being a sweet mild meat, it goes particularly well with flavours such as apples, maple, cinnamon and cloves. Fall is fast approaching after all and I thought this pairing of apple and pork would be more than appropriate.  In this recipe, and in any recipe containing apple for that matter, I use the Macintosh variety because they are both sweet and tart.

The pork’s exterior will be golden and flavourful and at the centre, tender and juicy. People will be fighting for the ends though; it’s the tastiest part 😉

Yield: 4 people (but not much for leftovers 😉

Pork Cut: 2lb to 2.5 lb Pork centre loin roast, boneless, with fat layer on, tied.  You can make this recipe using pork tenderloin but it will not achieve a golden crust as it has no real fat layer. Also be sure to remove any silver skin from the tenderloin. (You know, that fibrous, shiny, indestructible fat 😉

Use a digital instant-read thermometer for best results.

Ingredients:

2 or 2.5lb Centre Pork Roast, boneless with fat layer on, tied. Alternately, you can cut off the fat, place it back on and tie the roast.

3tbsp dijon mustard, I used a mix of whole grain and smooth but if I had to choose one, it’d be the smooth one for easier distribution.

2 cloves of garlic, minced and smashed to a paste with a knife.

Kosher salt

2 Sweet-tart apples, sliced thinly but not paper thin or they’ll cook down to a mush.

1 med. onion sliced

About a 1/4 cup of old fashioned apple juice (the dark, slightly opaque kind)

Thyme sprigs and or sage sprigs, enough to tuck all the way around the roast (about 8)

Butter or Ghee (to cook onions)

High-heat oil such as avocado oil or your favourite oil.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F

Pat roast dry with paper towels and rub all over with oil sprinkle salt all over. Put more salt than you think you need.

Heat a 10 inch skillet on med-high heat (preferably cast iron), drizzle with oil.

Brown the roast all around. Make sure you’re getting it nice and golden on all sides.

Remove from skillet and let it rest and cool on a cutting board.

Meanwhile, melt a little butter in the same skillet on medium heat. Salute onions until they’ve softened and achieved some colour, season a little with salt, remove from heat and place onions into your roasting pan (my skillet is oven proof so I just leave the onions in there) and add the apples to combine with the onions. Set aside.

When Roast is cool enough to touch. Slather it dijon and smashed garlic all over. Tuck sprigs of thyme/sage underneath the twine all around the roast.

Place roast into the roasting pan or oven-proof skillet, nestling it in among the onion and apple slices. Pour just under 1/4 cup of old fashioned apple juice. It won’t seem like enough but the apples will break down and the roast will excrete it’s juices so it’ll be fine.  If ever you check your roast and find it to be dry, you can pour in a little more juice, very little will be needed.

Roast for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. When the roast is half-way cooked, baste it by spooning pan juices over it. Do this as often as you like. Check the temperature towards the end of the cooking to see where you’re at. The internal temperature must reach 145F.

Remove roast to a cutting board, loosely covered with foil and allow to rest about 15-20 mins. Slice thickly and place onto a serving platter smothered in onion and apple slices with all of the pan juices.

Enjoy with mashed potatoes and green beans or peas.

Thank you for reading and I hope you like the results as much as I did!