Polish Baked Pork Loin
Submitted by SAGE
Polish-style baked pork loin roasted with shredded apples, onions, brown sugar, and ginger. Includes oven and crockpot slow cooker instructions. A sweet and savory roast with natural pan juices.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
3 hrsREADY
3 hrsPolish cooking knows what to do with a pork loin, and it usually involves apples.
The roast gets patted dry, seasoned, dusted in flour, and seared until deeply browned on all sides. That flour coating helps build a crust that locks in juices and thickens the pan sauce as it bakes.
Shredded Granny Smith apples and sauteed onions get spooned over the browned roast with brown sugar and ground ginger. Over two to two and a half hours of slow baking, the apples melt into the onions and create a sweet, tangy sauce that bastes the meat from above.
Basting every 20 minutes is key. It keeps the surface moist and builds layers of flavor as the sauce reduces and concentrates.
The strained cooking juices served alongside are liquid gold. Sweet from the apples, savory from the pork, sharp from the onions.
Kitchen Tips
- Keep at least 1 cup of liquid in the pan at all times. Add water as needed. If the pan goes dry, the drippings burn and you lose the sauce.
- Pat the roast completely dry before seasoning. Wet meat won’t sear properly and you’ll miss that caramelized crust.
- Use Granny Smith apples. Their tartness holds up to long cooking without turning into sweet mush.
Variations
- Use the crockpot method for hands-off cooking: layer apples and onions on the bottom, add the roast, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours with just ¼ cup liquid.
- Add sauerkraut to the apple-onion mixture for a more traditional Polish combination.
- Swap ginger for caraway seeds for an Eastern European flavor twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Pat roast dry.
Cover with desired seasoning.
Let stand 15 minutes.
Sprinkle roast with flour until evenly coated.
Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
Heat oil in a large skillet.
Add roast; cook over medium-high heat until browned on all sides.
Place browned roast in a deep baking dish .
Add onions to skillet cooking juices; sauté over medium heat until tender.
Remove from heat.
Stir apples into onions, add brown sugar and ginger; spoon mixture over roast.
Add water to the bottom of baking dish.
Cook, uncovered 2 to 2½ hours or until tender.
Baste every 20 minutes, adding enough water to make sure at least 1 cup cooking juices remains in baking dish throughout cooking time.
When done, remove meat and strain cooking juices.
Slice meat and serve hot with side dish of strained juices.
CROCKPOT: Layer apples and onions mixture on bottom of crock-pot.
Add roast.
Mix apple juice or water (use only ¼ cup) with brown sugar and ginger.
Spoon over top surface of roast, moistening well.
Cover and cook on low setting 8 to 10 hours or until done.
NOTE: For Crock-Pot use only ¼ cup liquid.
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