Autumn Pork Roast
Nothing like a good pork loin to get the ball rolling on roasting season! Since pork loin is so lean, an overnight brine is key to ensure it stays moist during the roasting process. A simple brine and a covered dutch oven will be your winners here. I’ll make sure to share the brine recipe first so you can get that going overnight and then the method for roasting the pork loin the next day. It’s fairly foolproof once you get the hang of it.
When I made this recipe, I trimmed up the pork loin and cut it in half since I was only cooking for myself for the week. You can easily cut the recipe size down and just freeze the other half of the pork loin after it has been brined for easy prep for another meal; all you’ll have to do is thaw out the frozen loin in the fridge when you want to make this again.
A friend of mine shipped me some delicious applewood smoked spices to try out with my recipes and that’s what I used here. But if you don’t have smoked salt or pepper, you can easily substitute regular kosher salt and pepper (even though I highly recommend the smoky flavor for the pork). Jacobsen Salt Co. makes a great variety of great salts to add to your collection. Check them out when you have a chance. Let’s get cooking!
Overnight Pork Brine
8 cups water
1/2 cup smoked kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup smoked whole black peppercorns
4 large garlic cloves, whole and crushed
3 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 large bay leaves
In a medium saucepan, heat up 2 cups of water with the kosher salt and light brown sugar and stir until they dissolve. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl or container along with the remaining 6 cups of water, peppercorns, crushed garlic cloves, smoked paprika, dried thyme, and bay leaves. Stir well and let cool completely.
Once the brine is cooled down, place the pork loin in the brine making sure it’s completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. When ready to use the loin the next day, rinse well and pat dry to start with the recipe.
Autumn Pork Loin
Serves: 4-6
Cook time: overnight brine and 20 minute cook time per pound of meat
Vegetable oil
3-4lb pork loin, brined overnight and rinsed
1/2 tsp smoked kosher salt
1 tsp smoked black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 large onion, quartered
5 garlic cloves, skins kept on
1 large honeycrisp apple, cut into wedges
Preheat your oven to 375ºF.
In a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed (and oven-safe) pot, add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. While the pot is preheating, season the brined and rinsed pork loin with smoked kosher salt, smoked black pepper, and smoked paprika, making sure to rub all over.
Remember, we don’t need much salt during the cooking process since the pork was brined in salt the night before. Sear all sides of the pork loin until a nice crust develops. This will ensure the meat stays tender and moist while roasting. Once the meat is seared, remove from the pot and set aside. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic cloves. Stir well and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Place the pork loin on top of the vegetables and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
Roast in the oven for 20 minutes per pound of loin. Within the last 10 minutes of roasting, remove the lid and add the apples around the pork loin. Place the pot back into the oven to finish roasting. This way, you can slightly cook the apples without them getting too mushy.
Keep in mind that the safe internal temperature for pork for 145ªF, so I personally tend to remove it from the oven between 135-140ºF and let the pork rest under some aluminum foil to finish cooking through. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to redistribute and prevents having a dry roast.
Slice the meat against the grain and serve the pork loin with the roasted carrots, onions, and apples with some of the juice in the pot. This roast pairs beautifully along with my roasted cabbage as photographed above. And fun fact: you can actually roast the cabbage at the same time as the pork. That’s what I did for dinner that night.
¡Buen provecho!