Roasted Hard Apple Cider Pork Loin

The only way I cook a pork loin is an amazing recipe out of How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.  It's more time consuming than I usually go for, basting the meat every 15 minutes, but the end results more than make up for it.  I took that recipe this week and used hard cider instead of the white wine usually called for (and changed some of the spices accordingly) and I must say, it was great.  I used hard apple cider over regular because it has less sugar and I didn't want the end result to be super sweet.  (Also I had some leftover in my fridge that was open, so no one was going to drink it.)

Roasted Hard Apple Cider Pork Loin

Roasted Hard Apple Cider Pork Loin

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. boneless pork loin
1 tsp. dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups hard apple cider (I used Stella Artois Cidre because it's less sugary)
1 Tbsp. butter

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450.
Mix rosemary, garlic, and a liberal amount of salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Rub all over the pork.  Put pork in a roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes.
Pour about 1/2 a cup of cider over the pork, lower the oven to 325 and roast for 15 minutes.  Continue to roast, adding about 1/4 cup of liquid every 15 minutes.  (If there is liquid in the bottom of the pan, baste instead of adding more.)
Start checking the roast after 1 1/4 hours (though mine usually takes about 1 1/2 hours).  It will be done when a meat thermometer reads 145-150. Transfer meat to a platter.
Place roasting pan over 2 burners, add the rest of the cider (if you didn't use it) and the butter.  Reduce to about 3/4 cup of liquid, scraping up the brown bits in the pan as you stir.
Serve the roast with the sauce over top.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman