Cider-Roasted Pork Loin

This is the first time that I have used a brining technique for preparing a meat dish, and I had great results. After reading the reviews, I decided to cut back on the salt by half and brined the pork loin for 8 hours before cooking. The pork came out very tender and juicy. Thanks for posting your recipe.

I prepared this recipe with pork collar for my Xmas feast last night and was a huge hit! I marinated 8 chops each roughly 3/4"" thick for 9 hrs and sprinkled dried thyme (as I haven't got fresh herbs) before baking them in two casserole dishes, keeping some brine and peppercorns in each. Due to time constraint my cider reduction never really turned into a basting sauce but I poured it in during the last 20 min of baking anyway. The pork turned out so succulent and flavorful it wowed my guests! The only thing I'd reduce would be the amount of salt: I used 1/5 cups but still find it slightly over salty. it was wonderful!

After reading PotPie's review and following her recommendations, I can definately give this a 5 star rating. I reduced the amount of salt in the brine to 2 tablespoons and placed the loin in the marinade early morning and cooked it after about 6 hours. My only problem was the cider reduction took a little longer than the recipe stated. The reduction itself made a wonderful sauce after adding some arrowroot starch to thicken it slightly. The pork loin was moist and fork tender. Definately a winning recipe.

Oh, I love the flavor of cider and pork together! This turned out great. I did not use the salt, since I am not supposed to have much, but marinated the roast in the cider and spices. I used the basting cider as called for, and also put some of the marinade in the bottom of roasting pan, so it turned dark and syrupy. I then deglazed the pan with some more cider to make a little sauce for the meat. This one goes in my Fall favorites cookbook!

I know this recipe can get 5 stars, I think there might be an issue with the brining timetable. I used a 2.3 lb. pork loin roast and brined it "overnight." That was almost 24 hours and way too much. It was so salty I had to discard the leftovers. But have NO fear! I would advise to try this with a 3-hour brining time, then follow all instructions just as written by Althea. You can't go wrong with the cider reduction sauce! I will try this again in the future and report back with what I'm positive will be excellent results!