Glazed Pork Loin Roast - Maple or Apple Cider options

Pork loin roasts can be notoriously difficult to cook as the meat is extremely lean and is often over cooked to insure safety. However modern pork only needs to be cooked to 137F degrees before removing it from the oven to insure food safety. So there is no good reason to cook this lean cut beyond that temperature. Once removed from the oven the temperature will still rise about 10F degrees. 

Glaze: This version of pork loin roast is glazed with either a maple or apple cider glaze that is as easy to make as pouring it from the bottle. Both maple syrup and boiled apple cider are easily purchased and need only a few pinches of spice and a bit of cooking to make a perfect glaze for your roast. I also drizzle it on the final servings. For the apple version, which I'm making today, you have the option of tossing in some chopped apple near the end of the preparation. Note: use only real maple syrup. 

Best Cut: If you purchase and cut an entire pork loin like I do, take your roast from the thickest end, where it has more of the dark meat and some fat. This part of the loin adjoins the pork shoulder, which is too fatty for this type of roast, and so it's an ideal part of the loin for roasting. If you are purchasing the pork loin roast at the grocer look for a piece that has more of the dark red meat and ideally some of the fat cap. The meat I'm preparing shown here is small and has been trimmed of fat. But it can still be used in this recipe although will take a little more fat in the pan for browning. 

Tie and Brine: Regardless of the size of pork loin roast you have, it is essential that you tie it so it is more round and cooks more evenly. It's not absolutely necessary that you dry brine the pork, as the searing and quick roasting won't dry it out. But if you have the time for a 12-24 hour dry brine, I still suggest you do it. Just sprinkle with salt all around and put the meat on a plate to catch the juices and place it uncovered in your refrigerator for the dry brine process.

Ingredients
1 boneless pork loin roast, preferably blade-end

3/4 cup maple or boiled apple cider syrup

2 teaspoons minced rosemary (dry or fresh)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2-3 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 small apple (optional)

Instructions
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325F degrees. Stir syrup, rosemary, cinnamon and nutmeg together in measuring cup or small bowl; set aside. Pat roast dry with paper towels, and tie it at even intervals along its length with butcher's twine spaced about 1.5 inches apart. Pat dry again and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke, about 3 minutes. Place roast fat-side down in skillet and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, rotate roast until well browned on all sides and ends. Transfer roast to large plate. Reduce heat to medium and pour off any excess fat from skillet; add syrup mixture and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. The syrup will bubble immediately and slightly thicken. Off heat, return roast to skillet along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Use tongs to roll the roast to coat it with glaze on all sides.  

Transfer the pork to a roasting pan or baking dish (rack optional, pan lined with foil is optional for easy clean up) and place in the oven with a temperature probe if you have one. Reserve the remaining glaze in the skillet. Using some of the reserved glaze, brush or spoon on every 10 minutes during roasting.  Roast until center of of the pork registers about 135F degrees, around 30 to 40 minutes. Verify temperature with the probe or instant read thermometer.

Transfer roast to carving board. Glaze one more time and let it rest 15 minutes as you finish the sauce. The internal temperature will rise to 145F-150F degrees as it rests.  

Reheat the sauce and thicken as needed until it reaches the desired consistency. If using the optional apple, core and chop it into bite-sized pieces. No need to peel. Cook until the apple is crisp-tender. 

Snip twine off roast, cut into 1/4-inch slices, and serve with sauce drizzled over it.