Pork and apples is such a classic combination. Here, I've used pork loin, not to be confused with pork tenderloin, which is a completely different cut. Try to find it with the fat cap still on ... it practically bastes itself in the oven!
My rule of thumb when roasting a pork loin is about 20 minutes per pound at 400°F, and to check the internal temperature about 15 minutes before time is up to make sure I take it out when it hits the sweet spot of somewhere between 145°F to 150°F. Also, letting it rest for about 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven is critical. It allows the juices to settle back into the meat. If you slice it too early, you'll lose a lot of moisture, and you'll end up with dry meat.
Ingredients
3 lb pork loin, with fat cap (not tenderloin)
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 whole sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp avocado oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 red onion
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Granny Smith apples
2 gala apples
1/4 cup honey
Directions
Preheat oven 400°F. Reserve 1 tsp of the chopped fresh rosemary and set it aside. In a bowl, combine the remaining chopped rosemary, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, and black pepper. Stir well. Add the avocado oil to the spice mixture and mix to form a paste.
Rub the seasoning paste all over the pork loin. Heat a large skillet (cast-iron or non-stick) over medium-high heat. Sear the loin, 3 minutes on all four sides, and 30 seconds on each end.
Transfer the pork to a 9x13-inch baking pan, fat cap up, and pour in the vinegar and broth. Roast for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and cut each apple into 8 wedges, removing the core. Peel the onion and cut into 8 wedges. Keep the garlic cloves whole. In a small measuring cup, stir together the honey and the reserved 1 tsp of chopped rosemary. Set aside.
At the 30 minute mark, remove the pan from the oven and nestle the apples, onions, garlic, and rosemary sprigs around the meat. Drizzle the rosemary-honey mixture on top and roast 15 more minutes, or until the pork is about 140°F. After the 15 minutes, switch the oven to broil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes to caramelize the top.
Remove the pan from the oven and check the internal temperature of the meat. It should be 145°F to 150°F. Transfer the pork to a serving dish to rest, tenting it with foil. Stir the apples in the pan, submerge the rosemary sprigs into the liquid, and return the pan to the broiler for 10 minutes, while the pork is resting. Keep an eye on the apple mixture, ensuring it doesn’t burn.
Note: The meat will release some juices as it rests, so do not rest the meat on a cutting board unless your board has a channel around the edge to catch the juices.
After the meat has finished resting, remove the apple mixture from the oven. For serving, slice up the pork, and spoon the apple mixture around it on the platter. Pour the cooking juices on top.
Goes really well with a side of cooked wild rice blend. I like to throw a handful of dried cranberries into the rice after it cooks, especially during this time of year!
Visuals
The oil rub, seasoned with fresh rosemary, ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Rub the pork loin on all sides with the mixture. Notice how much thicker the loin is versus a tenderloin. Also the white on top is the fat cap that you want to look for. Perfect for roasting.
I wouldn't skip the part of searing each side in a pan before cooking it in the oven. It helps to get the seasonings to adhere to the meat and gets a nice crust started.
Be sure to sear all sides.
Not kidding about all sides. Just let the ends kiss the hot pan for about 30 seconds each.
Transfer the loin to a baking pan. Pour in the vinegar and broth. You'll be cooking just the pork on its own (without the apples) for the first half hour.
During the last part of cooking, add the apples, onions, garlic, and rosemary sprigs. I used shallots in place of the red onion this time because I have a ton of them!
Pour the rosemary-honey mixture on top of the loin, then place it back into the oven to finish cooking. If you use one of the stems that you stripped the rosemary from to stir the honey and chopped rosemary, that's one less spoon to wash!
When the pork is done, transfer it to a platter and tent it with foil to allow it to rest for 10 minutes. As it's resting, return the apple mixture to the oven, under the broiler until it looks like this. Make sure to submerge the rosemary sprigs into the liquid before putting it under the broiler so that they don't burn.
Slice the pork and lay it on top of the apples. Spoon the juices on top.
If you decide to go with a side of wild rice, you could go easy and get the boxed stuff, or if you're conscious about making things mostly from scratch, you can just get the rice mix on its own. Here are two different wild rice blends I found at Safeway. Just rice, no other ingredients. Great for your own seasonings and add-ins! Both take about 35-45 minutes to cook, so plan accordingly while the pork is cooking.
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