From Scratch

This moist bone-in pork roast, with a reduction made from apple juice, is a perfect recipe when you want a main course that’s OMG delicious but requires little work. When carved at the table, it’s impressive too.

It’s the dish I referred to in Opportunities to Stretch a Food Budget and it’s one of my favorites. The pork gets flavor and moisture from a long brine then pan juices and fond lend even more flavor to the reduction sauce. I saw Tyler Florence make it years ago as part of a larger meal and couldn’t wait to try it; I’ve only made a few of his recipes but they’ve all worked and are always worth making again.

A couple notes about the reduction: you’ll see some butter is added at the end. This is called “mounting” the sauce and while you’re certainly free to omit it, it’s one reason restaurant food tastes better than ours. Whether they tell us or not, chefs do it all the time, just as they often add a dollop of cream right before pulling a red sauce off the burner. Do stick with plain apple juice. Once I used a varietal juice for this, I think Macintosh, and it was not one of my better decisions.

Also, I skip the salt when browning the roast. Between the brine and adjusting seasoning at the end, there’s quite enough for me.

Chef Tyler’s full version of this dish includes sausage, broccoli rabe and roasted peaches and can be found here. The sausage seems like overkill to me, but the peaches are good during those few, fleeting weeks when I can have fresh, fabulous peaches from New Jersey, not from Chile.

Bone-In Pork Roast with Apple Reduction

Adapted from Tyler Florence

1 center-cut, bone-in pork roast, about 5 pounds*
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 gallon water
1 bunch thyme, divided
1 TB peppercorns

1 - 2 TB olive oil
salt and fresh-ground pepper
4 small carrots, peeled
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 shallot, peeled and halved
1 head of garlic, split

2 cups apple juice
1 TB unsalted butter, cold

*Ask the butcher to cut between the chine bones to make carving easier. Be sure the fat cap is left on.

In a very large food-safe bag or in a Dutch oven, dissolve the salt and brown sugar in the water, using proportionally less for a smaller roast. Add the peppercorns and half the thyme. Submerge the roast, fat cap up, and refrigerate for 6 - 8 hours.

Remove roast and pat dry. Tie with butchers’ twine to secure. Discard brine.

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

In a roasting pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Brown the roast on all sides, seasoning as you go. Add the aromatics to the pan, place the remaining thyme on top of the pork and roast, with the fat cap up for moisture, approximately 1 hour, until the meat is 150 degrees at its thickest part.

Move the roast to a serving platter or cutting board to rest. Discard the aromatics from the pan, add the apple juice, scraping up the brown bits (fond) and simmer over medium heat for several minutes, until reduced by 1/3. Add the butter and any juices that have collected on the platter or board. Whisk until smooth, adjust seasoning if necessary.

Spoon or drizzle sauce onto each portion. 

Related on From Scratch: Exonerating Apple Juice

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