Garlic and Curry Pork Roast

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by a cut of meat?  I mean, you have it, you want to cook it, but you want to “do it justice” and you’re worried that you might “ruin” it and you’ll never get a chance to do it again?  Well, maybe that’s just me, but either way, that is how I was feeling about a pork shoulder roast that was sitting in my freezer, begging to be used.  I finally gave into the pressure and took it out of the freezer, knowing that if I defrosted it, there was no going back!  As the roast thawed, I googled…

I read a lot of pork roast recipes and finally settled on technique presented on Simply Recipes, I’m so glad I did because what I came up with was absolutely delicious.  I rubbed the roast down with seasoning and let the flavors soak into the roast.  Then I cooked it on a bed of apples and onions that eventually turned into a savory sauce to pour over the finished product.  It was so good, simple, and left us begging for more.

Garlic and Curry Pork Roast

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Using a knife cut 10-12 small slits into each side of the roast.  Slice 6 cloves of garlic into quarters and then push each piece of garlic into a slit in the roast so it is “stuffed” in the roast and you can only see the tip of the garlic sticking out.

Put the remaining 4 cloves of garlic, curry powder, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, salt and 2 Tbs. olive oil in a small food processor, or blender, or mortar and pestle.  Process or grind until a paste is formed.  Rub the paste on the roast, evenly coating all sides.  Tightly wrap the roast in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  While the oven is heating slice an onion into eight chunks and peal, core, and quarter 3 apples.  Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil.  Place the onion and apple slices in a mound in the center of the pan and drizzle with 2-3 Tbs. olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Unwrap the marinated roast and place it on top of the onion and apples.  Roast for 30 minutes.

Turn the heat down to 325 degrees and pour 1/2 cup of white wine onto the apples and onions.  Cover the roast with foil.  Roast for and additional 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the roast is falling apart when poked with a fork.  Remove the roast and set it on a plate to rest while you prepare the sauce.

Place the onion, apples, and any juices in a blender (or this could be done in a bowl using a hand blender.)  Add the mustard and apple juice.  Blend until no longer chunky, about 30 seconds.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Slice the roast and serve covered with the sauce.