Pork shouldn't be called the 'other' white meat

Makes it sound like a second class citizen.  I like pork, Ham is my favourite but a good pork chop is right up there. 

The finished roast - so good!

This roast was gooooooood. First time I've made such a thing.  It made awesome leftovers and it made a great entree as well.   The chorizo I used because I had it.  The apples, well it just seemed natural and the sage - same thing, just a natural 'go to' flavour combination.  Worked well, I'd do it (or something very similar) again.  Maybe even use pancetta over the roast next time, that would rule!

Inspired by basically and a combined version of these two recipes:

http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Pancetta_wrapped_pork_with_apple_stuffing

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/apple-stuffed-pork-loin-roast-recipe.htm

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH APPLE CHORIZO STUFFING

(and gravy)

 Meat & Meat Rub:

1 4-5 lb pork loin roast

Fresh sage

few sprigs of fresh thyme

2 large cloves of garlic

Fresh ground pepper and sea salt

1C apple juice

Butchers twine (9-12 pieces total, that fit around the roast)

For the stuffing:

2 shallots, fine chopped

1T butter

4oz finely chopped up chorizo sausage

2 medium apples peeled and finely chopped

1T brown sugar

2t dijon mustard

Make sure you set out roast a half hour before cooking (this is easy since it takes about a half hour to do all the prep!)

Preheat oven to 325

Prepare stuffing:

melt butter in medium fry pan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and stir around a few minutes until

fragrant and becoming translucent.  Add chorizo and stir around until it starts to release fat and

brown (about 5 minutes).  Add apple, sugar, and mustard and stir around entire mixture until apples

begin to soften (doesn't take long) remove from heat, place mixture in separate bowl and allow to

cool to room temperature.

Prepare meat seasoning:

Place your garlic in a small bowl, add about 8 or 9 sage leaves, sliced fine.  Chop your thyme (it

should be about a tablespoon (chop fine stems and all) and combine all of the above with a few

grounds of fresh pepper and salt.



Prepared meat with stuffing added



Prepare meat:

If there's oodles of fat on top, cut off what you can and score any remaining (it's OK to have some fat, makes it juicy).  Butterfly your pork loin - a sharp knife and a bit of patience will help :)  But it's actually not

hard, pork loin has a good amount of give since it's a leaner cut.  Start along the long side just

under halfway up, and slice in about an inch, keep doing this and pull away the top until it opens

like a book, keep approx 1 inch seam on the roast (don't cut it fully in half!)

Put it together:

Rub half the seasoning on the cut side of the pork loin.

Put the stuffing down on the butterflied side, leaving about an inch at either end (or else the stuffing will spit out when you tie it up!)

Take about 7 or 8 sage leaves, tear them up and sprinkle over the stuffing.

Cut a piece of butchers twine that will fit around the roast (be generous).  Cut several in advance so you have them ready.

Close the roast up and tie away, starting about a CM (or half inch) from the biggest end and going every couple CM (inch) across the entire roast.   Make the knots as tight as you can, you want something (somewhat) cylindrical. If stuffing peeps out, just stuff it back in.

Put your roast in a large roasting pan.  Use the remaining meat seasoning and rub it in all around the roast.

Pour apple juice gently over the roast and place in oven

Cook it: 

I erred on the side of caution here because my meat thermo was defunct (I'd recommend

cooking it with the thermometer)  So cook it for about 2.5 hours (you can go with about 15-30 min less I'm certain).  Basting each half hour or whenever during cooking.   It was a touch dry but not bad (hence the meat thermometer)  But the stuffing and gravy really balanced it out and it tasted great.

Between the chopping and preparing from initiation to oven took around a half hour.  Not bad.

When you take it out of the oven, place it on your carving board, cover with foil for about 15 min before slicing (with a sharp or electric knife)

Makin' Gravy:

This was a bit salty and over flavoured in my opinion but decent and complimentary for sure.

skim any fat off any juices (or if you pan was like mine, you just had fat on top and cooked on juices on the pan)

Take 1 C of cider or white wine and deglaze your roasting pan, cook off for about 5 min over a med/high burner trying to get most of the dark bits from the pan

Strain this mixture into a measuring cup.

Meanwhile, melt 2T unsalted butter in a saucepan on medium heat.  Add 2T flour and whisk until combined.  Gradually add 1C chicken broth, 1/2C of cider mixture and 1/2C of water (for a bit of extra flavour, add a bit more apple juice!).  Whisk on medium and cook for about 10 min until thickened.  I think the broth made it too salty, so next time I'd maybe switch the water and broth proportions.