Pork Loin with Apples

Fall again, which seems to translate to pork and apples for me more often than not. Definitely apples anyway, and pork and apples are a classic combo. Someone requested a nummy pork dinner after a perfect fall day of pumpkin patching and carving and I happily obliged - though not until 10pm or so. I tried to soothe the masses with a tasty apple drink in the meantime:
Apple Jack o'Lantern
1 1/2 shots of brandy (I used some VSOP I had)
a few dashes of Angostura bitters
apple cider
- can be served warm or cold. I'd love to add a little something else next time - - fizz perhaps? I put fizz in all my cocktails.

Roast Pork Loin with Apples
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (2-pound) boneless center cut pork loin, trimmed and tied (I totally forgot this step, whoops)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, thickly sliced
2 carrots, thickly sliced
2 stalks celery, thickly, sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
(I used a few dashes of dried and it turned out fine)
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter - I used I can't believe it's not butter
2 apples, cored and cut into 8 slices - I used Braeburns
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large ovenproof skillet heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Season the pork loin all over generously with salt and pepper. Sear the meat until golden brown on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the meat to a plate and set it aside.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, herb sprigs, and 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet. Stir until the vegetables are browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced apples, then push the mixture to the sides and set the pork loin in the middle of the skillet along with any collected juices on the plate. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the loin until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 140 to 150 degrees F, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Pork cooked this way will be slightly pink. If desired, cook the pork to 160 degrees F, but be aware that this lean cut will not be as moist at the higher temperature.

Transfer the pork a cutting board and cover it loosely with foil while you make the sauce (I let my pork sit for about 20 minutes as I cooked the sides; I just covered the whole pan with foil and left it sitting on top of the oven to stay warm). Arrange the apples and vegetables on a serving platter and set aside. Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Return the skillet to a high heat and add the vinegar scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen up any browned bits. Reduce by half then add the cider and reduce by about half again. Pull the skillet from the heat and whisk in the mustard, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove the strings (if you remembered to trim and tie your pork, which I did not) from the roast and slice into 1/2-inch thick pieces and arrange over the apple mixture. Drizzle some sauce over meat and serve the rest on the side.

I served this with twice baked sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. For the sprouts, I skipped the cheese and tossed in some dried cherries before serving.

Cocoa Rubbed Pork with Chocolate Barbecue Sauce

This bbq sauce is seriously going into rotation. Even before I added the chocolate it was amazing, so feel free to do it either way. This is the only recipe I followed for this dish, with the small tweak of the cilantro. Because I know not everyone is a fan, I just added a sprig on top for garnish.

Dark Chocolate BBQ Sauce
1 tablespoon butter, soft
4 each garlic cloves, minced½ each Spanish onion, small dice
2 each Roma tomatoes, stem removed, small dice
1 ½ oz. dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons ancho chili powder
4 oz. apple cider vinegar (I had orange muscat vinegar on hand, so that's what I used. I think the orange flavor was a nice addition)
8 oz. barbeque sauce
14 oz. vegetable stock
¼ teaspoon cumin, ground
¼ cinnamon, ground
1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
2 oz. SCHARFFEN BERGER (or any good quality) 82% dark chocolate
2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh, chopped
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper, fresh ground

Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, sauté 5 minutes until golden brown. Add tomatoes, stir, and sauté an additional 5 minutes. Add sugar and chili powder, mix well, and cook for 5 minutes. Add vinegar, reduce for 5 minutes, mixture should have a paste consistency. Add sauce, stock, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Mix well. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer for 30 minutes.
Add SCHARFFEN BERGER chocolate and cilantro; allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove sauce from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Puree sauce, strain to remove any little bits if you'd like a smoother sauce, transfer to a clean container and cool.

For best results, refrigerate for 12 hours before using. Reheat when ready to use.

Cocoa Rubbed Pork Loin
I'd really recommend asking your butcher to french the loin for you, doing it yourself takes some time and really sharp knives.
I had a four pound bone in pork loin, and frenched it myself. It wasn't as clean as it could've been, but it was my first time.
Once it was frenched, I patted my rub (recipe below) all over it. I placed it in a shallow roasting pan on a bed of quartered onion and a few cloves of garlic with about half a cup of stock, bone side up.
I then roasted it at 350 for an hour - an hour and a half, until my thermometer told me it was at 160. I then removed it from the oven, covered it with foil to keep it warm and allow it to finish cooking to a temp of 170. Once it had been out of the oven for 15-20 minutes or so, I sliced each chop for plating.

Rub
1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli)
1/4 Kosher salt
2 + tsp crushed chili flakes (I used two, but think I might up it a bit next time)
1/2 tsp cloves
2 tbsp sugar

I added all of these ingredients to a small jar with a lid and then shook to combine.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes
3 lbs cooked sweet potatoes (boil, nuke, however you do it)
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cumin
I may have added some clove too, I can't remember
unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Roughly smash up your potatoes while still hot, add other ingredients and mix to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Seriously, don't skip this part since I'm only guessing at what I did.

For plating, spoon a large scoop of sweet potatoes on to plate, sprinkle potatoes and plate with cocoa powder. Nestle a pork chop on top of the potatoes and pour 1/4 cup or so of bbq sauce on top. Garnish with cilantro.