Cider-Roasted Pork Loin

Fresh herbs and sweet cider syrup combine in this savory main dish. Overnight brining tenderizes the roast. If the cider reduction becomes too thick to brush on the pork, warm it in a saucepan over low heat.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces pork)

Ingredients

• 3  cups  water
• 3  cups  apple cider
• 1/4  cup  kosher salt
• 1  tablespoon  black peppercorns
• 1  tablespoon  coriander seeds
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  (2-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
• 2  cups  apple cider
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh sage
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat; cool. Pour brine into a 2-gallon zip-top plastic bag. Add pork; seal. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until cider has thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Set aside.

Remove pork from bag; discard brine. Place pork on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray. Combine rosemary, sage, and black pepper; sprinkle evenly over pork. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until thermometer registers 155°, basting twice with cider reduction during final 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven; baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

200 (30% from fat)

Fat:

6.6g (sat 2.2g,mono 3g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

24.4g

Carbohydrate:

9.2g

Fiber:

0.3g

Cholesterol:

67mg

Iron:

1.1mg

Sodium:

419mg

Calcium:

25mg