Herb Pork with Roasted Applesauce

Bree, Baked Bree

To celebrate the arrival of fall, Bree from Baked Bree makes a roasted pork with apple sauce on the first Sunday of every October. This year was no different, but she elevated the apple sauce by roasting the apples first with sugar, spices, and butter. The sugar caramelizes the apples and the addition of butter creates a rich and flavorful sauce. This dinner is simple and delicious, perfect for entertaining. If you do not have a lot of pan drippings after you roast your pork, you may use 1/4 cup beef stock instead.
30 min Prep Time
1 hr 30 min Cook Time
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min
  • Servings: 8 to 10 servings

Servings: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

  • For the Pork:

  • 1 large onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 4-5 pound boneless pork loin
  • 12 thyme sprigs
  • 6 sprigs rosemary
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons white wine
  • 1/4 cup beef stock, if needed
  • For the Roasted Applesauce:

  • 3 pounds apples, peeled and quartered (use an assortment - Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Macintosh)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • juice from half of a lemon
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
  • pinch sea salt
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces

Instructions

For the Pork:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Step 2

Line roasting pan with onion slices. Top with sprigs of thyme and rosemary.

Step 3

Mix together olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, remaining rosemary and thyme. Rub mixture all over pork.

Step 4

Place pork over onions and roast for about 1 1/2 hours or until thermometer reads 150° to

Step 5

155° degrees.

Step 6

Remove pork and onions from pan and loosely cover foil. Let rest while you make gravy.

Step 7

Pour drippings into saucepan (or use the same pan if it is stove-proof). Melt butter and add flour. Whisk until smooth, about one minute. Add wine and stock, if needed. Bring to a bubble and check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Step 8

Slice pork into thin slices. Serve with onions, gravy, and roasted applesauce.

For the Roasted Applesauce:

Step 9

Preheat oven to 425°F. Add apples, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean, and salt to roasting pan. Add butter pieces to the top of apples.

Step 10

Roast until apples are very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Step 11

Puree using food mill. Serve warm alongside roast pork.

Step 12

Applesauce can be refrigerated in an airtight jar for 5 days.