Doom and Salad

• 2009-11-16

  Roasted Pork Loin with Apples and a near TPK

  Roasted Pork Loin with Apples and a Balsamic Maple Glaze

  • 3lb. pork loin
  • 5 medium apples
  • 3 shallots
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • fresh rosemary
  • fresh sage (optional)

  for the glaze

  • 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
  • 4T. maple syrup

  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

  1. Peel the apples and cut into slices
  2. Chop the shallots and two cloves of garlic
  3. Combine apples, shallots and garlic in a large bowl and toss with olive oil to coat, and salt and pepper to taste.  Put them in a large roasting pan, or on a foil lined cookie sheet in the 450 degree oven for 10 minutes while you prepare the pork.
  4. Slice the remaining 3 cloves of garlic into thin slivers, chop a few sage leaves and some fresh rosemary, and combine them in a small dish with a teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
  5. Make incisions all over the pork roast, and into each incision, push a sliver of garlic.  Rub the remaining garlic, salt and herb mixture over the pork.
  6. Take the apples out of the oven and put them back in the bowl.  They will come back into play later.
  7. Now it’s time to make the glaze.  Combine the balsamic vinegar and the maple syrup in a small saucepan, heat until it simmers, and reduce it down to about 1/4 c.  Remove it from heat, and reserve a few tablespoons in another container.  This is to drizzle over the meat when it is done.
  8. Brush some glaze on the pork and put it in the oven for 10 minutes or so until it starts to brown.  Then brush some more glaze on it.  It should be smelling fantastic.
  9. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 and bake the roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers 150 to 155.  For our party, this took around 2 hours.
  10. When the meat is done, remove it from the oven and let sit on a cutting board, covered loosely with foil for about 15 minutes.  The temperature of the meat should rise another 5 degrees or so while it’s resting.
  11. As it’s resting, you can pop the apples back into the oven to warm up.
  12. If you are feeling up to it, you can deglaze the roasting pan by skimming off the fat, placing the pan over medium heat, and adding some wine or brandy while stirring off the meaty browned bits.  Bring to a boil and then stir in 2T of butter, maybe a little lemon or apple juice and some salt and pepper.
  13. Slice the meat, plate it up with the apples, drizzle the glaze and the pan juice sauce over it.  Yum.

  We served this with some mashed potatoes, and it was very reviving after the battle with the harpies.