Pork Roast with Baked Stuffed Apples

The key to a stress-free gathering that feels like an occasion lies not in last-minute heroics, but in the quiet, patient work done in advance. This menu is a testament to that philosophy, a symphony of autumnal flavors designed to be prepared ahead, allowing the host to enjoy the company as much as the food. It's a celebration of sucré-salé, the beautiful French principle where sweet and salty dance in perfect equilibrium. The heart of the meal is a pork roast, treated to the gentle alchemy of a sous-vide bath. For twenty-four hours. Once finished, the meat is set aside, and its rendered juices become the foundational note of the entire dish. This potent liquid is carefully transferred to a saucepan and set to a slow, patient reduction. We use Espérence apples, a variety known for its floral perfume and firm flesh that holds its shape beautifully in the oven. Each one is carefully cored, creating a cavity for a rich, textured stuffing. Plump prunes, having soaked in warm apple juice until soft, are chopped and combined with a deeply flavored puree of Black Mission figs and the earthy crunch of walnuts. This mixture is packed into the heart of each apple. The stuffed apples are then anointed with a light drizzle of local honey, and a knob of butter is placed on top of each one before they slide into the oven. As they roast, the honey and butter meld with the apple's juices, creating a fragrant, bubbling syrup. The roasted apples are pulled from the oven, their skins gently caramelized. From the roasting pan, a generous drizzle of that glorious, honey-kissed apple syrup is lifted and stirred directly into the reduced pork sauce. The savory depth of the meat juices is suddenly elevated, brightened, and made whole by the sweet, fruity, and floral notes from the apples.

Pork Roast with Baked Stuffed Apples

Course: Entrees

Cuisine: French

Keyword: baked apples, pork, roast

Difficulty: easy

Prep Time: 1 5

Cook Time: 12

Make 2 days ahead: 0

Total Time: 13 5

Servings:

Calories: 190kcal

Cost: $85

A glossy, complex, and hauntingly delicious glaze that perfectly unites the sweet and the salty, the meat and the fruit, in one perfect, harmonious finish…

Equipment

1 Immersion thermocirculator
1 Vacuum sealer
1 Large stock pot or plastic container for sous-vide cooking
1 Saucepan
1 Rimmed baking tray
1 Rubber spatula
1 Apple corer
1 chinois

Ingredients

Pork Roast

4 kg Pork roast (loin) twined
40 g Olive oil
6 each Crushed garlic cloves
3 each Thyme or rosemary sprigs
3 each Bay leave

Stuffed Apples

20 each Apples rather small
20 each Dry prune / pruneaux pitted
250 g Apple or orange juice
50 g Fig puree Recipe
60 g Walnuts chopped
30 g Acacia honey
40 g Butter
Salt and pepper

Instructions

What Apples to Use for Stuffed Baked Apples

Depending on where you’re located, apples are available year-round in most grocery stores—or best of all, straight from a nearby apple farm. There are plenty of choices when it comes to making baked apple dishes, whether for a warm dessert or as an accompaniment to savory meals. The ideal apple is one that holds its shape during cooking, with more or less acidity depending on your taste, and is sweet and flavorful. There are several varieties you may want to consider. Organic fruits are, of course, a wiser choice to start with. Varieties like Espérence, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Opal, Reinette du Canada, and La Belle de Boskoop are all excellent options. If you are lucky enough to live in the Tarn region, Jangopom is the apple farm to visit for the best organic apples you could dream of.

Pork Roast Sous-vide Cooking Method

This slow cooking method allows the meat to be cooked days in advance. Cut the prepared pork roast into 3 equal pieces and place them inside the bag. Season the meat with the crushed garlic cloves, herbs, and olive oil. Seal the bag under vacuum and massage it to ensure the seasonings are evenly dispersed. Fill a large stockpot with water about two-third full. Set your immersion thermocirculator and set the cooking temperature to 149ºF (65/66ºC). Immerse bagged meat in the water and cook for 20 to 24 hours.
To cool the meat as quickly as possible, fill your sink with cold water and add ice cubes or ice packs. Transfer the bags of cooked meat to the cold water and leave them there for 2 to 3 hours. Then place the bags on a tray and refrigerate overnight or for up to a week.
When ready to serve, remove the meat from the bags, reserving the rendered juices for the sauce. Discard the herbs and garlic.
Season the meat all over with salt and pepper. It is now ready to be sliced and served cold with pickles and mustard or warm with side dishes and sauce.
For a golden and crispy finish, place the cooked roast in a shallow dish and lightly rub it with duck fat, if desired. Roast in the oven at 445°F (230°C) for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Or, sear it first and pop in the oven until the center gets warm enough to your taste. Serve immediately.

Pork Roast Oven Cooking Method

Preheat the fan oven to 330°F / 160°C. Let the roast sit at room temperature for 2 hours before cooking. Rub the meat all over with fat, such as duck fat, olive oil, or butter. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place the roast in a shallow baking dish and add a splash of the liquid used to soak the dried prunes along with a couple of crushed garlic cloves, and fresh herbs. Roast for about 90 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 146°F / 63°C. Remove from the oven and let the roast rest for 30 to 45 minutes—during this time, the internal temperature will rise by another 3 to 5°C. Add any rendered juices from the baking dish to the sauce.

Stuffing Apples

A day or two before, soak the pitted dried prunes in apple or orange juice. Drain and reserve the liquid. Wash the apples, core them, and arrange them on a baking tray or in a shallow dish lined with parchment paper. Gently season each apple with salt and pepper. Chop walnuts and combine them with the fig puree and honey; set it aside. Cut the rehydrated prunes in half. Inside the cavity of each apple, insert a prune half, followed by some walnut-fig-honey mixture. Top with another prune half and a knob of butter. Scatter the remaining prunes between the stuffed apples, and drizzle some of the prune soaking liquid.

Baking

Preheat a fan oven to 345°F (175°C). Bake the stuffed apples for 50 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the apples inside for a further 10–15 minutes. Remove them from the oven. Baste apples with the cooking juice, and let them cool to room temperature. Transfer the rested apples to a plater, save the cooking liquid. Some of this nectar will be added to the sauce later.
The stuffed baked apples can be served whole or cut in half. Rewarm them before serving.

Sauce

In a saucepan, reheat the reserved cooking liquid from the pork roast. Pass it through a chinois to remove most of the impurities. Return the liquid to the saucepan, then add some of the reserved liquid from the baked apples to taste. Reduce by half, and season with salt and pepper as desired. The sauce can be thickened with a slurry or beurre manié.