Back
4.9 from 309 votes

Apple cider roasted pork loin

Easy recipe for apple cider roasted pork loin, made by baking a garlic stuffed pork loin roast with hard apple cider and ripe apples. Served with an apple cider gravy sauce.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: European , American , Canadian

Ingredients

For the pork loin seasoning rub:
  • 1 tablespoon of dry thyme
  • 1 tablespoon of mustard Dijon style
  • ½ tablespoon of onion powder
  • ½ to 1 tablespoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of Piment d’Espelette or cayenne pepper powder any hot chili powder will work
  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • salt
For the roasted pork loin:
  • 10-15 garlic cloves
  • ~5 lbs pork loin roast
  • 2-3 cups of hard apple cider semi-sweet works best
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 4-6 apples cut into halves
  • Other veggies if desired potatoes, carrots, etc
  • 4 tablespoons of butter optional
Apple cider gravy sauce:
  • ~2 cups of the juice/sauce from roasting strained
  • ½ cup cream
  • 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 1-2 tablespoons of Calvados can also use cognac or brandy
  • 1 tablespoon of cornstarch/tapioca starch – optional
  • 1-2 of the baked apple halves peeled and seeds removed - optional

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
  2. Mix the seasoning rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
  3. Stuff the pork loin with garlic cloves by making incisions into the meat and then pushing the clove into the meat. If the pork loin isn’t tied, use cooking twine to tie the meat.
  4. Rub the pork loin roast with the seasoning mix, save a small amount for the vegetables.
  5. Place in the pork in a large roasting pan. Arrange the apples, onions and other vegetables around the pork loin. Pour about 2 cups of apple cider into the pan.
  6. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.
  7. Lower the oven temperature to 350F, baste the pork loin with the juices (add additional cider at any point if the juices start to dry up). Bake for about 1 hour, basting every 20-30 minutes, cover the pork loin with foil if needed. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, and add butter (cut in pieces) during the last 10 minutes. The interior temperature should be 145F.
  8. Let the pork loin rest for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
For the apple cider gravy sauce:
  1. Put the strained pan sauces into a small sauce pan and cook over high heat until it’s reduced by half, about 10-15 minutes.
  2. Stir in the cream and let the sauce cook over medium/low heat until it starts to thicken.
  3. Add the balsamic vinegar and the calvados/cognac/brandy. If you want a thicker sauce, add a tablespoon of cornstarch (with the cognac), and cook/stir until the sauce thickens. Another option for a thicker sauce is to blend a couple of the baked apple pieces and mix the puree into the cream sauce.
  4. Slice the roasted pork loin and serve with the sauce and baked apples/vegetables, plus your choice of side dishes.