Ingredients

Pork:
2 (5 pound) pork loin roasts, rib bones attached, back bone (chine) removed
Small bunch sage, leaves chopped
Small bunch thyme, leaves chopped
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) bottle hard cider
1 cup chicken broth
1 lemon, juiced optional

Apples:
8 Gala or Golden Delicious apples
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 or 2 large corn muffins crumbled (1/2 cup), reserve some for sprinkling on apples
1/2 cup golden raisins
6 sage leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup hard cider
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the pork roast in a roasting pan with the ribs facing up, braced against each other.
Add sage and thyme to olive oil. Brush the pork roasts with oil mixture and season with a
generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast the pork loin for 2 1/2 hours, until the skin is
crackled. (Put the apples in the oven along with the pork roast in the last half hour of

cooking.)

Remove the pork roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Pour out some of the excess fat from the roasting pan and put it on the stove over
medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour into the hot pan juices, stirring constantly with a
wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. Cook and stir the roux until its light brown. Add
the cider and continue to stir to incorporate. Pour in the chicken broth; boil and stir
for 5 minutes until the sauce is thick. Check for seasoning - add lemon juice if
necessary. Serve the cider gravy with the pork roast and baked apples.

To make the buttered apples: Core the apples with an apple corer, making a good size
cavity to hold the stuffing. Douse the cut sides of the apples with some of the lemon
juice to prevent them from browning while you make the stuffing. In a mixing bowl,
combine the softened butter, muffin crumbs, raisins, sage, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and
pepper. Spoon the stuffing into the cavities of the cored apples; stand them up, side by
side, in a baking dish and sprinkle the tops with the reserved muffin crumbs. Pour the

cider around the apples and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 375 degrees F, until soft when
pierced with a knife. Place the warm apples in the center of a round serving dish. Spoon
the cider sauce around the apples and serve with the pork loin.