As a
college student I took several culinary arts classes. As a part of my favorite one we spent six
weeks cooking meat. Every kind of meat
you can think of we cooked. My absolute
favorite was Pork Loin with Apple Cream Reduction.
Every
fall I start thinking about this dish again.
I don’t know if it is because the days are starting to get cooler or if it
is because the apples are starting to ripen but to me this is the perfect fall
dish.
Fall
is also a great time to stock your freezer.
Start watching for deals on beef, chicken and pork. For the past couple of years pork loins have
gone on sale at Sam’s Club for under $2.00 a pound, I’m thinking they were
around $1.50 a pound last year. For me
that is the price point when I fill my freezer.
The pork loins from Sam’s are huge so I buy a couple and cut them into a
more reasonable size for my family and freeze them.
How to Cook a Pork Loin
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees F.
Rub
the meat with olive oil, place in a large Dutch oven (the kind you put in the
oven not the kind you take camping) and brown the edges. This should take about 1 minuet per side. When all sides are brown remove from heat and
cover the Dutch oven with a lid.
Place
pork loin into oven. Cook until the pork is no longer pink in the center, about
1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145
degrees F (63 degrees C). Remove roast to a platter. Serve with Apple Cream Reduction.
Apple
Cream Reduction (from Heather’s Culinary Arts Class)
Note: This is not gravy, it is a lovely fruity cream sauce, it goes well with pork chops or roast
½ oz
minced shallots
1 t
minced garlic
½ c
apple sauce
½ c
concentrated apple juice
1 c
cream
Sage
to taste
Sauté
shallots and garlic
Add
apple sauce and juice and reduce.
Add
cream, sage and salt and pepper. Serve hot.
