Living 2 Eat |

Pork Loin with Molasses-Mustard Glaze

and Apple Butter Sauce

From the kitchen of Burma Davis Posey

Inspired by a recipe from Bobby Flay in 2008

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 5 hours 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Level: Only for experienced cooks…  Cook this on a day when you have plenty of time and no distractions!  Grandchildren should be in another state!  It is a process to prepare, but truly worth the effort and work. 

Serves: 6 People

Ingredients:

1 (2-1/2 to 3 pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat

Apple Butter:

·     2 tablespoons canola oil

·     1/2 small Spanish onion, finely chopped

·     1 clove garlic, finely chopped

·     2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

·     1/4 cup water

·     3 tablespoons light brown sugar

·     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·     1/4 teaspoon salt

·     2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Molasses-Mustard Glaze:

·     1/4 cup Dijon mustard

·     2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

·     1/4 cup molasses

·     Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pork Marinade:

·     5 cups water

·     1 container apple juice concentrate, thawed

·     1/2 cup salt

·     1/2 cup brown sugar

·     1 Spanish onion, peeled and quartered

·     10 black peppercorns

·     10 mustard seeds

·     8 sprigs fresh thyme

·     2 bay leaves

Sauce/Gravy:

2 tablespoons olive oil or bacon drippings

·     Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·     3 shallots, finely chopped

·     2 cups whiskey (Recommended: Jack Daniels.  For my Baptist friends, all of the alcohol cooks away.)

·     5 cups homemade chicken stock

·     1/4 cup light brown sugar

·     2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

·     2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus parsley sprigs for garnish

Directions…  Make the marinade first and allow the pork to marinate while making the Sauce, Apple Butter, and Glaze.  It will seem that the sauce has to cook forever to reduce…

Pork marinade:

Bring the water, apple concentrate, salt, sugar, onion, peppercorns, mustard seeds, thyme and bay leaves to a simmer in a large stock pot and cook until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Allow to cool completely. Submerge the roast in the brine by placing a plate on top, cover with plastic and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.  I have a 25 year-old Tupperware marinating container that is a treasured item in my kitchen!  They probably still make it. 

While the pork is absorbing all these yummy flavors, make the sauce…

Sauce/Gravy:

Heat the bacon drippings in a Dutch oven.  Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the whiskey, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken broth and brown sugar and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a gentle boil and cook until reduced to a sauce consistency.  When the sauce has reduced, whisk in the apple butter.  Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.  (Make the Apple Butter and Glaze while the sauce is cooking and reducing.)   

Apple Butter: (This is so delicious I could sit down and eat it with a spoon!!!)

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apple, water and brown sugar and cook until the apples are very soft. Stir in the cinnamon and salt and cook for 1 minute. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the butter and process until slightly chunky. Scrape into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

For the glaze:

Whisk all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.

For the Pork:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the pork from the brine, rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper and cook on all sides until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a baking sheet, brush with some of the glaze and bake in the oven, brushing with the glaze every 10 minutes.  Cook until the tenderloin has an internal temperature of 150 degrees F on a meat thermometer, about 30 to 40 minutes, Remove from the oven, and allow to rest loosely tented with foil for 10 minutes.

Slice the rack into chops and place on your favorite serving platter.  Drizzle a little of the sauce around the pork chops and over the top.  Garnish with parsley sprigs and butter. The pork is so tender and has an unbelievably rich and delicious flavor.  My family RAVED about this dish. 

This recipe was brought to my attention by my college friend, LeeAnn Miller.  She is a well known television personality in Ohio and an incredible ‘foodie’.  Check out the Walnut Creek Cheese website, you will love it!

Frozen Cheesecake

1 pkg - graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup - margarine, melted
1/2 cup - sugar
2 pkg - 8 oz cream cheese
3 tbsp - sugar
1 can - sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp - vanilla
8 oz - Cool Whip

Combine crackers, margarine, and sugar.  Press into the bottom of a 10″ springform pan.  Put in the freezer while you make the filling.  Mix the rest of the ingredients, folding in the Cool Whip last.  Pour over the crust.  Freeze.  Serve with fruit or pie filling on top.

This artery-clogger features a fried chicken patty topped with Swiss cheese all tucked inside a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut. To enhance the sweet-and-savory effect, the sandwich is served with a side of Smucker’s honey sauce.

Reheat pizza:  Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.  This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works. 

Easy Deviled Eggs:  Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.   Just throw bag away when done; easy clean up. 

Expanding Frosting:  When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size.  You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. 
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking. 

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of 
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up. 

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt  Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies.  Let set for a wonderful minty frosting. 

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste 
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.