This recipe comes from Marcia Adams’ Heirloom Recipes. When we lived in Utah I would check out cookbooks from the library to read. This was a favorite cookbook. Eventually, I bought all my favorites, likely through Amazon. When I was peeling the sweet potatoes yesterday, I started laughing out loud, thinking about Austin’s memory of this dish. One time we had a family over for dinner and served this dish. The daughter, who was about five years old, was sitting near Austin, Tyana and me. Her dad was trying to get her to eat the sweet potatoes. She did not want to try them but he somehow got her to take a little bite. Then she pretended to throw up, basically, just spit it out all over herself! I think that got her out of eating any more of it. Austin always remembers that when we have this. He says he was grossed out and she was so dramatic about it. It was so funny yet surprising!
Yesterday I cooked two bone-in pork loin roasts from the Pork Shop that were each about 2 1/2 pounds. The sauce was plentiful without doubling it. I cooked seven sweet potatoes but only had room for five in the pan, so I cooked the other two in a separate pan with cinnamon and nutmeg and apple cider. That worked out well because then I had another pan for Mom without sugar. I used seven apples but we ate them all up and could have used more. The time given in the recipe was too long and the roast ended up somewhat dry. I think about 45 minutes roasting time would have been enough before adding the sauce, sweet potatoes and apples. I like the apples peeled. It is better to add the apples a little later than the sweet potatoes because they cook faster and end up mushy. All in all, this makes a very good meal. I didn’t serve anything else with it because I was too tired. I usually make some kind of bread but we still had cinnamon rolls, so no need to waste calories on other bread. Usually, biscuits, cornbread or homemade yeast bread would be good, along with maybe a salad.
The recipe says, “This old recipe came from a regional San Antonio cookbook and reflects the melding of both the German and Southern settlers.”
3 1/2 pound boneless pork loin roast (I prefer bone-in pork roasts)
1 1/2 cups apple cider or apple juice
2 cups packed dark brown sugar (15 ounces or 426 grams)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind ( a few drops lemon oil can be substituted)
6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4-inch slices
Preheat oven to 325° F. Place the roast in a large roasting pan and bake 1 1/2 hours (I think that’s too long-try an hour or less).
Meanwhile, combine the cider, sugar, butter, lemon juice, allspice and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. (This can be done several days in advance and refrigerated.)
Remove the roast from the pan and skim off as much fat as possible from the pan juices. (I have never had any.) Return the roast to the pan and arrange the sweet potatoes and apples around the roast. Pour the cider sauce over the potatoes and apples. Return to the oven and roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer, basting the roast, potatoes and apples frequently with the pan juices. When the roast registers 160° F. on a meat thermometer, remove from the oven, allow to rest for 10 minutes, then carve the meat into slices and serve immediately, accompanied by the potatoes and apples. Transfer the pan juices to a gravy boat and pass at the table. May be salted individually.