Cider Braised Pork Loin is for when it grows cold and apples and potatoes are the only game in town (except for the Super Bowl). This dish serves them after a long simmering in hard cider.
Nice thing about loins and shoulders is their adaptability. They can go from easy entree to crowd food with no extra effort. This is the sear it and forget it till the timer chimes dish. However, you won’t need to worry about forgetting it since the aroma of the herbs and cider will make your kitchen smell like the best restaurant in Montreal.
The History
Back in the day colonial Americans drank hard cider since most apples were too bitter to eat and water wasn’t always potable. Johnny Appleseed wasn’t a teetotaler and the seeds he propagated got planted all over the territories mostly to feed through cider mills where the apples were put in a hopper, cranked into mash, dropped into a vat where a wooden disk was placed on top, and screwed down until the juices were released. And it wasn’t just apples. Peaches, blackberries, and muscadine grapes were all put through the mill and subsequently fermented.
In the last few decades this old fashioned but delicious drink has been making a comeback. Books like Annie Proulx’s “Cider” give step by step instructions in how to make not only cider but cider presses.
For this version I used an apple cider that contained some blackberry and pear. It’s made by Crispin and is very rich and fruity – port wine qualities at a fraction of the cost. The thyme, as you can see in the shot below, is lemon thyme which is a bit spicier than the regular thyme and it was a hit with my tasters.
The Prep
The bullet point presentation of this easy dish is as follows: melt butter in pan, sear pork, chop onions & garlic, dump into pan and stir for a couple, add cider, pork back in pan, top on and you’re done in an hour. If you’re not into the suggested potato prep just steam ’em, mash ’em, slice the finished pork, and top with the sauce and apples.
You can see from the picture below that I sprinkled some thyme leaves over each serving. This looks nice, but tastes even better.
And don’t forget to buy enough cider to serve your guests with their supper.
Now try and keep warm till spring!
- For the pork:
- 3 lb boneless pork loin or shoulder
- 2 tsps. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. dried thyme (or a couple of small sprigs of fresh)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or butter)
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- ⅔ cup hard apple cider (or non alcoholic apple cider with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar)
- For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- For the apples:
- 2 lbs. apples
- 2 tablespoons butter
- For the potatoes:
- 2 lbs potatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- For the pork:
- Grind together with a mortar and pestle the salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Dry off the pork and rub the herb mixture into the pork. Wrap in plastic and put in the fridge overnight or for at least 3 hours.
- Roughly chop the onion and garlic.
- Rinse the salt/herb mixture off the loin, dry, heat the vegetable oil or butter in a lidded braising pan and sear the loin on all sides.
- Remove and saute the onions and garlic briefly, stirring to pick up the brown on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the cider then place the loin on top, cover and put in a 325 oven for about one hour.
- For the sauce:
- When the pork is done, remove and strain out the onions and garlic.
- If there is not enough liquid add some more of the cider to taste, depending on the amount of sauce you want.
- Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and place the braising dish over a low heat. Stir until thickened and add a pat of butter to finish.
- Serve over the pork.
- For the apples:
- Peel, core, and slice into half inch thick wedges.
- Lay evenly in the butter and cook on one side until slightly brown.
- Remove.
- Do this in batches if necessary.
- When all are done set aside.
- For the potatoes:
- Cut into quarters and boil for a few minutes.
- Add some more butter to the pan in which the apples were cooked, lay the potatoes in it and brown.
- When the potatoes are done add the apples to the pan, garnish with thyme or parsley and serve with the pork.
This recipe scales up well. If you have lots of mouths to feed double or triple it.