Citric Acid Free Apple Cider Roast Pork Loin
Tender, fragrant, and deeply savory, this roast pork loin is the kind of centerpiece dish that makes a weeknight feel like a special occasion. The pork is rubbed with coconut oil and a warm spice blend of thyme, rosemary, ginger, turmeric, and Ceylon cinnamon before roasting over a bed of fresh apple wedges, onion, and garlic — so the whole pan perfumes your kitchen as it cooks. Avoiding citric acid can be genuinely tricky with roasts, since many store-bought broths, marinades, and seasoning blends sneak it in as a preservative. Here, the braising liquid is built from unfiltered apple cider, bone broth, apple cider vinegar, and honey — straightforward ingredients you can vet easily at the label. The two-stage roasting method — a high-heat blast to brown the exterior, then a lower, slower finish — keeps the loin juicy all the way through. Once the pork rests, the softened apples and pan drippings get transformed into a silky sauce thickened with arrowroot starch, so nothing in that roasting pan goes to waste. Slice it into rounds, spoon that glossy sauce over the top, and you have a dish that looks and tastes far more involved than it actually is.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the pork
- 2 ½ lb boneless pork loin roast
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ceylon cinnamon
For the roasting pan
- 3 medium apples (such as honeycrisp or fuji), cored and cut into 1-inch wedges
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
For the braising liquid
- 1 cup unfiltered apple cider (not hard cider)
- 1 cup bone broth
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
For the pan sauce
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tbsp cold water
For serving
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Pat the pork loin completely dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together the salt, dried thyme, dried rosemary, ginger, turmeric, and Ceylon cinnamon. Rub the coconut oil all over the pork, then press the spice mixture evenly onto all sides.
- 2
Scatter the apple wedges, onion wedges, smashed garlic, and fresh thyme sprigs across the bottom of a large roasting pan or oven-safe skillet. Pour the apple cider, bone broth, apple cider vinegar, and honey over the apples and onions, and stir briefly to combine.
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