This recipe will serve 4 – 6 people

 

Ingredients:

• 3 lb. center cut pork loin, boned, rolled and tied*
• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 7-8 small carrots, peeled and left mostly whole
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. apple juice, divided
• 1 large white onion, peeled and cut in 8 sections
• 1 tsp dry Rosemary,
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 cup  Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 4 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut in bite sized pieces (3 lbs in total)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pat dry the pork with paper towels  and place on a platter. Coat with 3 tbsp. of the oil, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

In a large, heavy bottomed roasting pan or Dutch oven, large enough to fit your roast, bring burner to medium high and once hot, add two tbsp of the oil . When simmering hot, add the pork, fat side down and sear and turn every two minutes for a total of 10 minutes This should sear the roast on all sides, including both ends.

Remove the roast from the pan to the platter. Add 1 cup of apple juice to deglaze the pan. After this has reduced by half and all the brown bits are scraped up from the bottom shut the burner off and add all the carrots, onions and Rosemary. Pour the chicken stock over the vegetables and set the roast on top of the vegetables.

In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, garlic powder, Dijon mustard and 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, Using a pastry brush, brush this all over the seared roast.

Place the pan in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from the oven, and cover with tin foil until the roast has reached 140 degrees (about 45 min)., and the vegetables continue cooking. Our 3 lb. roast took 45 minutes ater the initial 30 minutes to reach 140 degrees.

Remove the roast to a platter. Pour off all the liquid into a saucepan.

Add the potatoes to the pan with the vegetables and add the remaining 1 tbsp. of oil, 1/2 , tsp of the salt and remaining pepper and toss. roast for 15-25 minutes until they are tender.  After 15 minutes, toss the vegetables and roast a further 15 – 20 minutes. While these are roasting, in a small saute  pan melt the butter over medium low heat and add the flour, cooking for about 4 minutes to make a smooth roux.

Heat 2 cups of the reserved liquid that collected from resting the meat, and once it starts to bubble, add all the roux and whisk to make the gravy Keep  temperature of the gravy on low, or reheat when ready to serve.

When the vegetables are cooked, uncover the roast and slice,  serving with the vegetables and gravy.

Your family (guests) will rave about this and you can think to yourself “Damn I did this”.