Apple Citrus Pork Roast with Herbs

Today's recipe is thematic...the theme is "I have a bunch of random fruit that I need to use before it spoils."  Exciting, huh?  I also had a pork loin on hand, ready for some creative fixins.  With our powers combined, we should be able to come up with a fun dinner!

Set your oven to 350, to start.  As for the fruits, I've got lemon, lime, orange, and apple.  I've decided that, somehow, these are all going to work together with my pork.  We'll pull out a few old standbys as well: rosemary, thyme, garlic, booze, and soy sauce.  Do you see where this is going yet?  Yea, me neither, but let's press on!

Hey!  Let's use our apple!  Howsabout we cut the apple into slices and lay the roast on top?

Not bad to start, but that roast sure looks naked.  We'll give it a rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme.  Better, but now this pan looks a bit empty.  A couple springs of fresh rosemary should help!  Oh, and our roast definitely needs garlic.  Slather it on!

 Muuuuuch better!

Since we've got an apple in the pan, our booze of choice this evening is going to be hard cider.  We'll mix a cup of it with 1/4 cup of soy sauce, the juice of a lemon, and the juice of a lime to make a pan sauce.  Pour it lightly over the roast and into the bottom of the pan.  I feel like the squeezed orange juice should go right on top of the pork (gently, so we don't wash off any of our yummy seasonings!)

Take a peek:

Ooo baby!

I think our pork has had about all the fun it can stand.  Pop it in the oven for about 2 hours.  Check the internal temperature periodically to make sure things aren't getting too hot in there!  You'll want an internal temp of around 145 degrees. 

A couple hours later....

 

This entrée really came together nicely, despite some initial "is there too much going on here" reservations.  I consider it just another proof that you can take random ingredients you have on hand and make something great!  The pork turned out juicy, tender, and extremely tasty.  As a bonus, all that pan sauce in the bottom made a lovely gravy poured over rice.  Dinner: solved!

Try it.  You'll like it.

-Sam


Apple Citrus Pork Roast with Herbs

1 3-4 lb. pork roast
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
salt
pepper
1-2 medium apples
3 cloves minced garlic
2 springs fresh rosemary
1 lemon
1 lime
1 bottle hard cider (or 1 cup apple juice)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 orange

Preheat oven to 350.  Season the pork roast with the first 4 ingredients.  Cut the apple(s) into slices, place them in the bottom of a roasting pan, and lay the roast on top.  Mince 3 cloves of garlic and spread on top of the roast.  Place sprigs of rosemary on either side.  In a small bowl, mix the juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime, the cider or juice, and the soy sauce.  Pour gently over the pork and into the bottom of the roast pan.  Squeeze the juice of an orange over the top of the pork.  Bake for about two hours or until internal roast temperature reaches 145 degrees.