Cider Roasted Pork Loin

This is my absolute favorite way to eat pork and what I am most likely to cook for company during autumn, when good cider is readily available. It’s always a huge hit! I got it from Cooking Light magazine. The recipe calls for a trimmed pork loin, but I often use tenderloin when it’s on sale for less than $3/lb.

3 cups water
3 cups apple cider
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 (2-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
2 cups apple cider
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (you can use dried)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage (you can use dried)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan, combine the first six ingredients and boil, stirring until all the salt dissolves. Remove from heat; cool. Pour brine into a large marinating container or 2-gallon zip-top plastic bag. Add pork; seal. Refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Make a cider reduction by bringing 2 cups of cider to a boil and continuing to boil while stirring occasionally until about 1/3 of a cup (when using two pork tenderloins, I usually start with 3 cups of cider.)

Discard brine. Place pork on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray. Combine rosemary, sage, and black pepper; sprinkle evenly over pork. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until meat thermometer registers 155°, basting twice with cider reduction during final 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven; baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

16 responses to “Cider Roasted Pork Loin

  1. I may have to forward this on to Megan, as we have all the ingredients on hand. Well.. except fresh stuff. But you’ve authorized dried herbs, so there we go. :)

  2. silivreniel

    yum…i love tking a pork tenderloin and marinating it in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and caribbean jerk seasoning mix; i usually add a bit of cayenne pepper and tony chachere’s mix to it as well as some salt and pepper (i’m one of those throw everything into the pot and see what happens cooks, as you can probably tell!)…i marinate overnight and then cook it the next day…it is pretty tasty when baked and even better when grilled. i use the leftovers to make burritos. wanring: this can be very *hot* and is not recommended for those with acid reflux issues.

  3. Jennifer Blake

    OOH- sounds yummy! We love pork and since I just earned a FREE Professional Roasting Pan with Rack from the Pampered Chef I will have to put that bad-boy to use. (I better- it weighs a ton!)

  4. I don’t have a roasting pan, so I just use a 13 x 9 pan. It works!

  5. I have a yummy recipe that uses molasses and slightly ground peppercorns. Jason loves it, so that’s what I usually use.

  6. Do you brine it? Brining is definitely what gives this its moist, juicy, flavorful yumminess. I would totally consider combining a brining step with an old favorite recipe!

  7. Carol in Oregon

    Get. out. of. town. This looks wonderful, Kristen! I’m thrilled about the fresh herbs, since I planted a culinary herb garden this year and (besides basil) haven’t been so good about using them. We are going to our friends’ annual cider pressing soon. Thank you, ever so much. So much fun!

  8. You are so welcome! I served this with spinach salad, mashed sweet potatos and biscuits on Saturday night, with Joel’s chocolate cake for dessert.

  9. So, I don’t really like cider, but I looked at the recipe and it looks as if it will be more salty than sweet. Is that true?

  10. It isn’t particularly salty or sweet… it has a mild apple taste which suits the pork, but if you didn’t use the reduction on top, I doubt anyone would guess there was cider involved.

  11. ernie would love this. your feasting tidbits inspire me to cook.

  12. Ooh, I’m totally inspired to have company over just to try this! it looks GOOD.

  13. Jennifer Blake

    Oh My Gosh! We made this for dinner and it was AWESOME! Our apple cider was a little gross, so I added some cinnamon and a little brown sugar to it as it reduced…. YUMMY! The baby even liked it and I practically have to cram protein down his throat on most occasions. We used loin because it was on sale, but it did just fine. I also used my new roaster and it worked great! I am glad to find something that is not turkey to make in that thing.

  14. Kristen- today is Shane’s birthday, and since he liked this so much last time I am making it as his birthday dinner!

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