For our big dinner on Sunday I bought a huge pork loin roast from Costco… That sucker is 7lbs! I knew it would feed 15 or more people and I would have enough for left overs.
But how do you cook a 7lb pork loin?
Sorry I forgot to take great pics but trust me on this all the food was DEEELICCIOUS!!
This particular cut of pork is very lean so you don’t want to cook it for a long time or simmer it in any liquid so I decided to grill it. The piece of meat is huge so I cut it in half and marinated it with two different marinades. EVERYONE loved the sweet one with apple butter more than the herb marinated one but I liked both.
We served the pork with mashed potatoes, Roasted carrots with a yummy Tahini sauce and bacon stir fried sugar snap peas, a spinach salad made with apples and pears and some yummy whole grain bread from Costco with herb butter.
All of it turned out amazing!
Madeline my oldest daughter also made two different desserts.
A pumpkin pie brownie and an ice cream cake!
We were stuffed to the brim!
Notice the platter on the left of this picture…that is all that was left of 7lbs of pork loin!! See the dinner plates? Practically licked clean!
Cute Hayley one of Emily’s dear friends!
Getting ready to sing happy birthday..the kids are ready for the ice cream cake!!
The whole gang!
Ok here are the recipes
Apple Butter Pork loin
3 1/2 lb Pork loin
Kosher salt sprinkled
Pepper
1/2 cup of Apple butter (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Place pork in plastic bag add ingredients and marinade for 3-4 hours or overnight
Grill on hot grill until inside temperature reaches 145 degrees turning often.
Remove from heat and let rest about 10 min.
Slice and serve with more apple butter
Madeline had already made the apple butter a few weeks ago but it is simple to make: She used a similar recipe to this one
- 10-12 organic apples (cored, pealed, sliced)
- 1 cups organic apple juice or cider (read labels- find one with no added sugar!)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- Dash of salt
- Put everything in slow cooker (juice should not overpower apples) and cook on low for 10-12 hours
- At 10 hours, once apples are dark, immerse hand blender into slow cooker until smooth
- Put lid back on slightly ajar and let cook for the remaining 2 hours
- Let cool, and store in jars in the fridge
-If not as thick as you’d like, transfer to pot and cook over medium heat until thickens (use a lid, it will splatter) Very thick and spreadable.
[…] 4th of July we had 16 for dinner and then on the 5th of July we added three more! Click here for my grilled pork loin recipe. Oh and here is a yummy bean salsa that is great for a summer […]