Pork Roast with Winter Fruits and Port Sauce
A luxurious bone-in pork loin roast stuffed with dried fruits and served with a rich Port wine sauce. The meat is wrapped in bacon and accompanied by a fruity sauce made with apricots, prunes, and apple for a perfect winter meal.
Ingredients
- •¼ pound dried apricots
- •¼ pound pitted prunes
- •⅔ cup ruby Port
- •1 medium onion
- •1 small shallot
- •¾ stick unsalted butter
- •1 whole Granny Smith apple
- •6 pound bone-in pork loin roast
- •9 slices bacon
- •½ cup ruby Port
- •1 small shallot
- •1½ cups water
- •2 teaspoons arrowroot
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Simmer apricots, prunes, and Port in a small heavy saucepan, covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
15 min
- 2.
Cook onion and shallot in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add apple and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until apple is just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in apricot mixture and cool.
10 min
- 3.
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.
10 min
- 4.
Make a pocket in center of roast by making a horizontal 1 1/2-inch-wide cut into 1 end of roast with a long thin knife, repeating from opposite end so pocket runs all the way through. Then make a vertical cut through center (forming a cross) to widen pocket. Push about 1 cup stuffing into pocket using a long-handled wooden spoon (you may need to stuff from both sides if roast is long). Reserve remaining stuffing for sauce.
15 min
- 5.
Season roast with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan. Wrap with bacon, between rib bones, tucking ends under roast. Roast pork 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 325°F and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of roast (do not touch bone or stuffing) registers 155°F, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours total.
90 min
- 6.
Transfer roast to a cutting board, reserving pan, and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature of meat will rise to about 160°F; meat will be slightly pink.)
20 min
- 7.
Skim fat from pan drippings and reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons fat. Straddle pan across 2 burners and add Port to drippings, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
5 min
- 8.
Cook shallot in reserved fat in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in pan juices, 1 1/4 cups water, and reserved fruit stuffing and bring to a simmer. Whisk together arrowroot and remaining 1/4 cup water until smooth, then whisk into sauce with any juices from cutting board.
10 min
- 9.
Simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5 min
- 10.
Carve roast into chops by cutting between ribs, then serve with sauce.
5 min
