Roasted Pork Loin with Apples seared for ultimate juiciness with a mustard garlic maple rub and lots of fresh herbs for extra flavor.
Holiday dinner just got a lot easier, like ready in an hour easier. So you can skip the turkey this year and serve this beautiful roasted pork loin. The secret to this juicy pork is Dijon mustard plus a good slather of minced garlic and maple syrup. These ingredients help create a nice golden crust and make a really flavorful pan juice. Make sure to drizzle all of that over your sliced pork just before serving.
When choosing a pork roast, make sure to get the pork loin roast, not the tenderloin. They are completely different cuts of pork. The pork loin roast is a meatier, thicker roast that comes either boneless or bone-in. For this recipe, I chose boneless, for simplicity. If you decide to go for the bone-in, you may need to adjust the cooking time. After about 45 minutes of cooking, break out the thermometer and check for an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
Let the roast rest for about 20 minutes. This is a very important step when achieving ultimate juiciness. The resting time allows the juices to stay in the meat and also gives you time to get all the side dishes ready for the table.
Ingredients in Roasted Pork Loin with Apples
- Pork Loin Roast – This is the larger, thicker roast, don’t confuse with the tenderloin.
- Apples – Red apples that are a little tart such as Braeburn or McIntosh.
- Onion – I like Walla Walla sweet onions or use a nice yellow onion.
- Mustard – Dijon mustard for coating the pork really keeps the moisture in.
- Maple Syrup – Real maple syrup without the high fructose corn syrup.
- Garlic – Minced garlic, I use the pre-minced that I keep in the fridge.
- Herbs – Fresh herbs such as sage, rosemary and thyme.
- Lard – Either lard or bacon grease.
Related Recipes
Make this for Thanksgiving and add these side dishes to complete the meal. Spiced Acorn Squash roasts in just 20 minutes with a sweet and spicy glaze that is amazing! This Sourdough Stuffing with Roasted Garlic will be your new favorite, it’s so flavorful and makes your kitchen smell really good.
Roasted Pork Loin with Apples
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb. pork loin roast
- 2 red apples, such as Braeburn sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. garlic minced
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
- 1 tbsp. lard or bacon grease
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set a heavy bottom roasting pan on stove over medium high heat.
- Pat pork loin roast dry. Rub mustard all over roast, then garlic and maple syrup. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Place lard or bacon grease in hot pan. Sear roast on first side until nice and browned, about 2 minutes. Repeat on other side, adding apples and onions at same time to get them nice and seared as well. Turn the heat off. Tuck the herbs around the roast and place uncovered in pre-heated oven. Cook for about an hour, depending on size of roast. Internal temperature should read 145 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for about 20 minutes before slicing. When sliced and ready to serve, drizzle pan juices over the top.
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