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Glazed Pork Loin with Pineapple-Scallion Chutney

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Serves 6-8

  • by Dabney Gough from Fine Cooking
    Issue 115

This twist on the classic pairing of pineapple and ham uses the fruit in a delicious maple-infused glaze and a sweet-spicy chutney for roast pork. If possible, use grade B maple syrup in the glaze; it has a more robust flavor than lighter grades.

  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
  • 1-1/2 tsp. toasted coriander seeds, ground
  • 1 3-lb. boneless pork loin roast
  • 1 medium fresh pineapple (about 3-1/2 lb.)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup, preferably grade B
  • 2 Tbs. sherry vinegar
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • Pinch ground cayenne
  • 1 large scallion, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
  • 3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Peel and coarsely chop the garlic. Sprinkle it with a generous pinch of salt and mash it to a paste with the side of a chef’s knife. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the oil, lemon zest, coriander, and 1 Tbs. salt.

Put the pork on a large rimmed baking sheet, pat dry with paper towels, and rub all over with the salt mixture. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Roast the pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 130°F, about 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core the pineapple. Cut half into small dice and roughly chop the other half. Purée the roughly chopped pineapple in a blender, then strain it through a fine strainer, pressing on the solids with a spoon, to yield about 3/4 cup juice. In a small saucepan, combine the strained pineapple juice and maple syrup and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, 12 to 15 minutes. The liquid will become very bubbly as it reduces; lower the heat as necessary.

Set aside all but 2 Tbs. of the reduced liquid (this will be your glaze). Add the vinegar, shallot, cayenne, and a pinch of salt to the 2 Tbs. liquid remaining in the saucepan and cook over medium heat just until the shallot begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the diced pineapple and scallion whites and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pineapple softens and releases some of its juice, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

When the pork reaches 130°F, brush it with some of the glaze and continue to roast, brushing with more glaze every 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast reads 145°F, about 20 minutes more. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

When ready to serve, stir the scallion greens and cilantro into the chutney. Slice the pork into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and serve with the chutney.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 290; Fat (g): 9; Fat Calories (kcal): 90; Saturated Fat (g): 3; Protein (g): 32; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 5; Carbohydrates (g): 18; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Sodium (mg): 470; Cholesterol (mg): 80; Fiber (g): 1;

Photo: Scott Phillips

I'll give it 3 stars for the roast and 4 -4 1/2 for the pineapple chutney. Next time I make it, I'll pre-plan a bit and give the roast a wet brine in the refrigerator for a couple of days (search the Fine Cooking website....I know I used that method on another pork loin roast recipe). A wet brine just gives the pork more flavour in the end. For my slightly-less-than-3-pound roast, I found it took longer than 50 minutes to get to a 130 temp (it was closer to 75 min for me), but it got to 145 much quicker than 20 minutes. For the chutney, if you like it spicier it could use a bit more cayenne, but since I have kids I just used a pinch. I forgot to buy scallion at the store but will be sure to buy it next time. For the blended half of the pineapple (the half that gets put in the blender to make the juice), I recommend giving that a couple of hours to sit in a sieve over a bowl to extract the juice for the glaze with minimum effort. I'll definitely make it again, just tweak it a bit.

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