I love the cool months of autumn and winter in Northern California. I’m sure those of you in other parts of the country might laugh at that, especially when this last Friday saw the thermometer push 80 degrees. Either way, there is a distinct chill in the air by California standards at this time of the year and it gives us an excuse to do some cooking that takes a long time and warms the house. This recipe may be a bit more fall inspired, but still works as we prepare for Christmas.
Apple Cider Roast
Ingredients:
- 3lb Tenderloin Roast
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 apple
- fresh poultry herbs
- 1 clove garlic
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- apple cider
- potatoes
First, prep your roast. Take your herbs and use about 1/2 of them, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, a clove of garlic, a small bit of onion and a slice of apple and create a paste in the blender or food processor. Rub the roast down with this paste. Use a knife and stab a few holes into the roast. Apply some of the taste inside these holes to add flavor deep inside the roast.
Set the roast in a roasting dish and pre-heat your oven to 325. While waiting for the oven to warm, roughly chop your onion, peel the remaining garlic and slice the apple. dress the roast in the roasting pan with these as well as the remaining seasoning. Add apple cider to roasting dish, enough to fill roughly 1/2″ to 1″ deep. Add salt and pepper to flavor, recognizing some salt will be needed to flavor the basting liquid and fresh produce. Cover roasting pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven.
Every 20-30 minutes, roll the roast one quarter turn and baste with liquids. Continue this process until roast is fully cooked, approximately 3 hours. Roasting times vary depending on the size of your roast. Revised USDA cooking temperatures recommend bringing the internal temperature to 145 as measure by a meat thermometer and allowing for 3 minutes of rest.
For the final 30 minutes, add potatoes around the roast. These potatoes should be lightly tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. For this occasional, I used yellow, red and purple potatoes for added color. Be sure to use a waxy potato that can handle the roasting. Do not use russets.
When finished, set the roast on a plate and surround it with vegetables. Remaining basting liquid should be put into a sauce pan, brought to a boil and simmered for 5 minutes.
Serve roast in thin slices with potatoes and vegetables. Liberally apply basting liquids as a gravy and enjoy.
For a beverage, you can enjoy another cider or, as I chose on this evening, a hoppy Belgian saison.
