MENU
 
 
 
 

  • Pork w/ Apple, Onion & Hard Cider Sauce

    4 votes
    Pork w/ Apple, Onion & Hard Cider Sauce
    Prep: 10 min Cook: 60 min Servings: 4
    by Amos Miller
    101 recipes
    >
    Leaves turning, cooler breezes blowing - time for a comforting pork roast with onions, apples and hard cider. This is a deceptively simple dish that Claire Robinson turned me on to, and is loaded with country flavors. The hard cider reduces down to a savory sauce after Granny Smith apples and sliced onions are caramelized. A very nicely browned pork roast then gets parked in the center of the pool to roast to perfection. A minute of puree action with your wand or blender, a knob of sweet butter and the sauce is reduced to a wonderful gravy. This is a dish we serve with our Garlic Herbed Sweet Potatoes, a side of kale sauted with bacon, red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar. Biscuits with Pear Butter and a fruit dessert round out the meal. Let it snow!

    Ingredients

    • 2-1/2-3 lb pork roast (boneless and trussed)
    • Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
    • 1 white onion, peeled, halved and sliced into half moons
    • 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced (peels are good!)
    • 3 Tbs + 1 Tbs sweet butter
    • 1 bottle (12 oz.) of hard cider (read the label: you want to use straight hard cider, no flavorings. A domestic brew is good)

    Directions

    1. Preheat the oven to 375^
    2. NOTE: I like to brown a roast in cast iron as the apples and onions are caramelizing in the dutch oven, then I set the roast aside while I deglaze with the cider, then return the roast to the roasting pan, but you may want to cook everything in the dutch oven. If so
    3. Season your roast well with salt and pepper
    4. Heat your dutch oven over medium and add 2 Tbs of butter
    5. Brown the roast in the hot butter on ALL sides
    6. Remove the roast and set it aside as you
    7. Add the onions and apples to the dutch oven, stirring to coat and caramelize the produce
    8. Add the hard cider and deglaze the dutch oven
    9. Return the roast to the center of the dutch oven and cover
    10. Oven roast to 145^ - 150^ (about 55 minutes)
    11. Remove the roast to a carving board to rest
    12. Use your hand blender, or the food processor or blender and puree the apple, onion cider juices
    13. Bring the puree to a boil, adjust seasonng to taste
    14. Reduce the heat to simmer and whisk in a knob of butter, reducing until you know it is a gravy-like sauce
    15. Slice the roast and plate individually or on a platter, laying down some sauce then the meat, then a run of sauce over the meat
    16. You can serve the remaining sauce in a boat

    Similar Recipes

    Reviews

    • Arturo Féliz-Camilo
      Arturo Féliz-Camilo
      I love the flavors. I promise to try that soon!
      • Salad Foodie
        Salad Foodie
        This was a feast of flavors. Will make again....and again. The apple/onion/cider gravy is worth the time alone to make! And completing the feast was your Cajun Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce. "Dinner by Amos" - perfect!

        Comments

        • Amos Miller
          Amos Miller
          Bob - You are a man of your word! I am delighted that you tried this recipe and even happier it was well-received by your diners - especially the picky ones! We all thrive on reviews, so, again, thanks for taking time to write and for the positive comments. Actually, you entire meal sounds perfect. Very well done. Best regards, Amos
          • Bob Vincent
            Bob Vincent
            Amos: I made the dish last night for a group of six. All at the table enjoyed the meal; even two picky eater grandkids. My wife loved the apple, onion and cider sauce/gravy. I had some extra cider so I used it in Brussels sprouts/baby carrots browned in a skillet then reduced the remaining cider until almost gone and added cold butter. We also had garlic mashed potatoes and a mixed salad. A nice meal. Thanks for sharing!
            1 reply
            • Amos Miller
              Amos Miller
              Bob - You are a man of your word! I am delighted that you tried this recipe and even happier it was well-received by your diners - especially the picky ones! We all thrive on reviews, so, again, thanks for taking time to write and for the positive comments. Actually, you entire meal sounds perfect. Very well done. Best regards, Amos
            • Amos Miller
              Amos Miller
              Annie - HARD CIDER is just that - hard. It has, generally, a 5% alcohol content and is about like a strong beer in alcohol content, but it is an apple beverage, fermented by the addition of a yeast (Doc's uses champagne yeast). I use a brand named Doc's Draft. A well-stocked liquor store will have a few hard ciders, but I recommend an American-made brand, made without the addition of 'flavors', like vanilla. This would be similar to using a wine product and making a reduction sauce, but the alcohol content is much lower. A regular cider or apple juice would simply be too sweet and wouuld not serve you well in making a sauce. And, of course, all the alcohol does cook off, evaporate, as the dish is in the oven. All that remains will be an exquisite flavor. I hope you can try it! Great to hear from you. Be well. Isn't it about time for you to bake my Swedish bread recipe???
              • annie
                annie
                This looks and sounds amazing amos .ok I have a few questions I've never really cooked with apple juice or ciders at all but I was wondering what hard cider means is it like wine or whiskey or is that just the name of it just curiouse thanks your friend annie crocker
                • Amos Miller
                  Amos Miller
                  Bob - Thanks for the comment! I hope you will let me know how this goes over at your table. I am totally with you on the combintion of flavors here. Just really puree the apple, onion, cider to obtain a smooth sauce. The pork juices and butter will do their magic and you will have an amazing sauce/gravy. While we grow nearly all the fruits we cook with here, I always recommend a good soap and water wash of any store-bought fruits because of the additions of waxes and preservative chemicals used to keep the fruit 'fresh'. For that matter, we rinse and pat dry all cut meat products we have to buy. Just a small moment of sanitation awareness that may prevent a case of rumble tummy later. I am looking forward to your report. best wishes, Amos
                  1 reply
                  • Bob Vincent
                    Bob Vincent
                    Amos- Thanks for the reply. I meant to ask how many ounces of Cider was in the bottle; as you didn't mention ounces in the recipe?.

                    Thanks,
                    Bob
                  • Bob Vincent
                    Bob Vincent
                    I just bought a 6 pound boneless loin roast which I cut in half. I have plans for the first half. This looks like a great candidate for the second half. Something about pork and apples. A match made in Heaven. I have added it to my Try soon folder. Thanks for sharing!
                    1 reply
                    • Amos Miller
                      Amos Miller
                      Bob - That would be a 12 ounce bottle (or 12 ounces) of hard cider for this recipe. - Amos

                    Leave a review or comment