Pork Loin with Fruit, Honey, and Bacon Sauce

For me, Autumn is the most inspirational time of the year. Inspiration in fixing up my home, inspiration in my personal life, and inspiration in the kitchen.

I think that maybe cooking inspiration comes from actually wanting to eat cooked foods again. In summer, I don’t cook much. A big, fat bowl of watermelon for me is a delicious meal. Strawberries? Yep, a big, fat bowl of those will put a smile on me li’l face, too. A tossed salad? Absolutely gourmet. But, just about the time of the autumnal equinox I start inhabiting the kitchen again, looking for warm, comforting, filling food.

Autumnal equinox. That’s a mouthful of syllables. Six syllables in two words. Then again, the word “inspirational” (7th word, 1st paragraph) is five syllables in only one word. Nevertheless, I had to use the phrase “autumnal equinox” because it made the sentence read more expressively. If I had written “about September 22 I start inhabiting the kitchen…”, it would have made for a ridiculous sentence. I suppose I could have said “about mid September when the sun hangs lower in the sky, the trees are painted with colors of gold and brilliant shades of red and orange, and the days begin and end with wearing warm sweaters, I once again return to the comfort of my kitchen…”. Wow. That would have made a beautifully expressive sentence. Long, but beautifully expressive.

So, anyway, in the Fall I like to start cooking again. (Ha! A whole sentence with only 15 syllables.) I think that the foods available at this time of year are as beautiful as the colors on the trees and they invite creativity. I was seriously in the mood for a pork roast this past Sunday and I wanted a smoky sweet sauce with which to dress it.

The process of developing the sauce, and it was a process, began with bacon. After the bacon I added some orange marmalade. Then, I had to stop and think, “now what?”.

Honey.

Okay, now what?

Fresh cranberries.

And?

A tangy Granny Smith apple, all chopped up in small pieces.

Aaaaand?

Spices.

At this point I took out all of my “sweet” spices and started sniffing each one. Most of them seemed like they would taste perfect with the sauce. Shoot. How much of each? That’s always a dilemma. But, low and behold, I picked up the pumpkin spice, took a whiff, and eagerly looked at the side of the bottle to read the contents. Yeppers, it was all of the spices that I had decided would taste great with the glaze rolled into one simple mixture. Well, that was easy. With the addition of a little apple cider and a bit of salt and brown sugar, I was good to go. Per. fec. tion.

Print Recipe

Pork Loin with Fruit, Honey, and Bacon Sauce

Pork loin is browned, then roasted with a sauce made of cranberrries, honey, apples, orange marmalade and pumpkin pie spice. It makes a beautiful Autumn meal.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 0

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

For the Glaze:

• 8 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 18 ounce jar orange marmalade
• 2 cups whole, fresh cranberries, rough chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped fine (about 1 large)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the Roast:

• 4-5 pound boneless pork loin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Instructions

For the Sauce

• In a heated 2-quart sauce pot, cook chopped bacon until just starting to golden on the edges and fat has rendered. Drain fat, reserving 2 tablespoons with the bacon.
• To the bacon and reserved fat, add the orange marmalade, cranberries, apple, brown sugar, apple cider, honey, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir until well mixed.
• Heat the sauce over medium heat until boiling. Lower heat and cook sauce for 20 minutes at a gentle boil, stirring as needed.

For the Roast:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking pan with foil. Set aside.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper over all roast surfaces. Set aside.
• Add the oil to a heated skillet. Brown the roast on all sides. Place browned roast in baking pan.
• Pour approximately 1 1/2 cups sauce over top of roast. Set aside remaining sauce.
• Bake the roast at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Lower oven heat to 325-degrees F and continue to cook roast until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees (about 1 1/2 hours).
• Remove roast from oven. Cover with foil and allow roast to sit for 15 minutes. Slice in generous 1/4-inch slices for serving. Remaining sauce may be served on the side or spooned over roast slices prior to serving.

Alternate serving suggestion:

• Blend the remaining sauce with an immersion blender or in an electric blender until smooth. Rewarm in pot or microwave, if needed.