Roast Pork Loin with Apple, Fennel, and Brioche Stuffing
SERVINGS: 6 servings
PREP TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 40 minutes
COURSE: Main
Apples make a delicious match for pork, marrying the crisp, sweet taste of fall with rich and savory meat. For this elegant roast, we use them in two ways. First, we create stuffing — a fragrant combination of apples, toasted brioche, onion, and fennel, which bakes inside the pork. Then, we add cider to the roasting pan, which infuses the dish with even more flavor (and creates a heavenly pan sauce). To serve, slice the pork and place it on a platter. Then, finish with the pan sauce and surround with fresh herbs for an elegant presentation.
Ingredients
Miso Dressing:- 1 x 3lb. boneless pork loin
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 wedges each
- 1 large onion sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 fennel, washed and sliced ½-inch thick
- 5 oz. brioche, torn into 1-inch chunks and toasted golden brown
- 2 tsp. ground fennel
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter plus 2 Tbsp. for sauce
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil if necessary
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh thyme — leaves picked and stems removed
- 2 cups of apple cider
- 2 cups of Citarella chicken bone broth
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium skillet, melt the butter and add the onions and fennel and fennel powder. Cook slowly until softened and golden brown, approximately 15-20 minutes. Add a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil if necessary. Add apples 10 minutes into the cooking process.
- Cool the vegetables and apples. In a medium mixing bowl, place the toasted brioche and cooled mixture. Add the picked thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper.
- With a sharp knife, cut a hole on each end of the meat. Using the handle of a large wooden spoon, create a hole all the way through the loin, wiggling the spoon to create a large enough cavity to place the brioche mix. (Ideally 1.5-2 inches wide.)
- Stuff the meat with the cooled brioche mix. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the stuffed pork on the rack of a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, then lower the oven to 325.
- Add any leftover stuffing that did not fit in the pork cavity to the roasting pan.
- Pour the cider over the meat and continue to cook for an additional 40 minutes to an hour. Meat should read 145 on a thermometer. Remove the pork and excess stuffing from the pan and let the meat rest, while keeping everything warm.
- Place the roasting pan on a stovetop. Add the chicken bone broth to the pan juices and reduce to half. Stir in the remaining butter and season to taste. Strain if necessary.
- Slice the pork and spoon the sauce over the meat.
Begin Each Recipe with the Finest Seafood
Citarella owner, Joe Gurrera has 7 rules when it comes to cooking seafood. The first rule is to begin with the freshest, highest quality ingredients. And at Citarella, we have been bringing in the best for over a century. Whether it’s right out of the Atlantic, fresh from the Pacific, or sourced from one of the world’s most principled seafood farms, if it’s sold at Citarella, it’s the finest seafood available on the market today. Period.
