Apple Peel-Brined Pork Loin with Baked Purple Figs

Filed under Pork · Print This Post

When trying to figure out our September apple menu for Supper with Strangers, I naturally turned to pork because pork and apples make a good combination. A more recent New York Times recipe featured duck and figs that looked very autumnal and just made me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Duck breast was out of our Supper budget, so I found some nice pork loin and stole the idea of figs from the recipe.

The apple peel brine came from watching the Dr. marinate pork chops when we closed the summer season in Montauk a couple of weekends ago. The sweetness of the brine penetrated the pork meat and made it juicy; cooked just right and the meat is succulent and moist. The baked apples and figs were a nice side to make the meal complete. A Coast of Spain blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Tempranillo was the perfect match.

Ingredients:
1 pork loin, tied in butcher twine
1 apple, sliced thin
1 apple, peel and meat peeled using a peeler
1 small tub of figs, sliced in half
3 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp juniper berries
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
oil, salt

1. Two days before cooking, make the brine. In a small saucepan, boil apple peels and meat with sugar, juniper berries, all spice, black peppercorns, bay leaves in 4 cups of water. Season with salt. Simmer until water is reduced to about half. Remove pot from heat and let completely cool before adding to pork loin.
2. In a glass baking dish, marinade the pork loin in the brine. Just use enough brine to submerge the pork almost halfway. Turn pork loin over after a day.
3. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 300º. While preheating oven, remove pork from the brine. Heat a large skillet with some oil and brown the pork loin on all sides. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with foil and roast for about 25 minutes or until the pork feels like the meat below your thumb.
4. In the meantime, combine figs and apples in a separate baking dish and drizzle some oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside. Save the juice.
5. Remove pork loin from oven to a chopping block and let rest for about 15 minutes before slicing into 2-inch thick rounds. Serve with baked apples and figs and drizzle the fruit juice over them.

Related post/s:
Join us at Supper once a month
September Supper with Strangers photos on Flickr
Pork and apples make a classic combination

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Porchetta

Filed under American, East Village · Print This Post

110 East 7th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A
212/777.2151
$9 for a pork sandwich, without tip
♥

For Italians, porchetta means boneless pork roast that’s moist and juicy. Chef and co-owner Sara Jenkins doesn’t stray away from that definition: my $9 pork was no joke. The meat was shiny; its own fat glistening in between the two slices of Sullivan Street Bakery ciabatta bread. There are little surprises of crunch and soft gelatinous cubes of fat–my jaw hurt from chewing but I couldn’t stop eating.

I’ll return to try it with some of my own chili sauce, although it was well-seasoned that it didn’t really need any extras to make it more satisfying than it already is. The $5 side of potatoes were roasted in pork fat and tossed with some burnt pork ends. The bitter and garlicky broccoli rabe was a good balance to all the fat.

It took me ten minutes to walk from work to this new Porchetta branch in the east Village and another five to get my lunch order, but it took me two hours to digest one of their fatty-licious sandwiches.

Related post/s:
I haven’t checked out the original Porchetta branch in Brooklyn, but Fette Sau comes to mind when I think of pork in the borough

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