Ingredients
2kg boneless pork loin roast, rind on
2 onions, cut into wedges
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
⅓ cup redcurrant jelly
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 medium red apples, cored and cut into wedges
Fresh thyme leaves, to serve
Apple sauce, to serve
Fruit Stuffing
1½ cups mixed dried fruit (try chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries and golden raisins)
⅓ cup apple juice
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
½ onion, finely chopped
1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
Apple Sauce
3.5kg Granny Smith apples, cored and quartered
2 cups water
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup brown sugar
Method
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For fruit stuffing, put dried fruit, apple juice and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil over high heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stand for 30 minutes. Stir in onion and thyme, then season.
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Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Remove rind from pork and reserve. Butterfly the piece of pork (follow the step-by-step guide below).
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Spoon fruit stuffing onto meat. Starting from a short side, roll up into a spiral, then tie securely with kitchen string.
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Put onion in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the melted butter and oil, then toss to coat. Arrange wedges in an even layer. Place meat on top and season.
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Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional) and roast for a further 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt jelly over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in vinegar.
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Toss apple wedges with remaining melted butter. Arrange in pan around roast. Brush meat, onion and apple with jelly mixture. Roast for 25-35 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in meat registers 62C. Remove from oven. Cover meat with foil and stand for 20 minutes before slicing.
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Top pork with thyme, crackling, onion, apple and apple sauce to serve.
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To make apple sauce: Put apple, water and juice in a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, covered, and stiffing often, for 25-30 minutes, or until apple is very tender.
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Press apples through a food mill or sieve. Return pulp to pan, discarding skins. Stir in sugar to taste, adding 1/2 to 1 cup water until dolloping consistency.
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Put pan base in a sink full of cold water and stir to cool. Ladle in sterilised jars. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Cook's Tip! For crispy crackling, score reserved pork rind at 2cm intervals. Place rind, top-side up, on a wire rack set over a baking tray and refrigerate until needed. After step 7, as pork rests, increase oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Rub rind with 1 Tbsp fine salt 1 Tbsp olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until crackled and golden. Break into pieces.
How to butterfly
1. Slice down the centre
Place pork loin fat-side down on a large cutting board. Using a long, sharp knife, cut lengthways down centre of meat, leaving 1.2cm uncut along bottom to keep the sides together.
2. Cut and unroll
Place knife at the base of the V with blade perpendicular to first cut. Using shallow slices and the cutting board as a guide, cut through the left side, maintaining a 1.2 to 1.8cm thickness and unrolling it as you go.
3. Repeat on other side
Repeat on the other half, making shallow slices and unrolling until you have a flat surface and a relatively even thickness across the whole piece of meat.
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