Roast Loin of Pork with Sweet Potatoes and Apples

American Cooking: Southern Style, 1971

2 hours — 6 Servings

Ingredients

5	pound	pork loin in one piece (with backbone sawed through lengthwise but left attached)
1	teaspoon	salt
1⁄2	teaspoon	ground black pepper
3		sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds – peeled and cut in half lengthwise)
6		tart firm red apples (cored)
1	teaspoon	ground cinnamon
1⁄4	cup	light brown sugar

Instructions

Mix the cinnamon and the light brown sugar. Set aside.

Tie backbone to the loin in four or five places with kitchen cored or string.

Heat oven to 350°F. Rub the pork loin on all sides with the salt and pepper, and place it fat side up in a large roasting pan. Inserted tip of a meat thermometer horizontally at least 2 inches into one side of the loin. Be sure that the tip of the thermometer does not touch any fat or bone.

Roast the loin undisturbed in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, then arrange the halved sweet potatoes around it and roast for 15 minutes longer. Now intersect the potatoes with the apples and filled their hollows with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Roast for another 30 minutes, or until the meat thermometer indicates a temperature of 165°F.

Transfer the roast pork to a heated platter and let it rest for about 10 minutes for easier carving. Surround the roast with the sweet potatoes and apples. Skim and discard the fat from the juices in the roasting pan and serve the gravy in a heated sauce boat.