While my successes in the Instant Pot have certainly outnumbered the failures, I have definitely had a few regrettable experiences. I've tried really hard to adapt a recipe that has rice noodles, and friends, they just do not work. Rice noodles + pressure = mush. Even if you set the time to zero. Even if you do low pressure. Even if you sacrifice a virgin into the depths of a raging volcano. (I assume.) You can of course cook them separately, but then it feels like, what's the point? Someone smarter than me may still conceivably figure it out, but I, for one, am admitting defeat on that issue. Pork has beaten me multiple times as well. It kept turning out dry and tough. I knew I was going to eventually come out on top with that one, but I didn't think my first victory would be so spectacular. I invite you to please share the spoils of my triumph by trying out this marvelous pork roast recipe.
I've mentioned before that my Grandma, Marguerite, was a wonderful cook. I can vividly remember so many of the fabulous things she used to make: lasagna, homemade applesauce, a poke cake that she made with Vess Whistle Orange soda, appetizers made from wontons baked in a muffin tin and filled with a yummy sausage and cheese mixture, and of course the famous brisket. But one thing I really don't remember is her pork roast. My dad loved it and talks of it fondly. And I love my dad and talk of him fondly, so I've always wanted to make it for him, but the memories of it (for me) are so vague. He can describe his memories of it to me, but in the past that still wasn't enough for me to make anything I was terribly pleased with. Oddly enough, the thing I remember best is the pot she cooked it in. It was oblong and covered, like a Dutch oven, but it wasn't made of cast iron. It was a shiny-ish metal, kind of with the look of aluminum, and it looked like it had lived a bit of a hard life and gotten a little beat up. Admittedly, that is very little to go on. So I said, well, hell, I'm just going to make something that my dad will love, even if it's nothing like the ones of his past. Yes, I'm 38 years old and my life still mostly revolves around pleasing my parents. That and trying to raise my children to not be assholes.
As I often do, I consulted my America's Test Kitchen cookbooks for ideas. Then I took a leap of faith and winged it for Christmas dinner, which I was serving to 12 people. My gamble paid off. So, maybe someday my pork roast will become a great food memory for my kids. Things like that always keep me coming back to the kitchen.
Apple Cider Braised Pork Roast with Onions
With 6 pounds of meat, obviously this makes a lot as written. I used my 8 quart Instant Pot. You could certainly do just one roast in a 6 quart pressure cooker, but since I have not personally done it that way, I would suggest you still stick with the same amount of cider and water to make sure there is plenty of liquid to braise it and make it really tender. It would be a lot of gravy for that amount of meat, but the words "too much gravy" really don't make sense to me anyway. Kind of like "too much cheese." I mean, that's just silly. I honestly think the best way to make this is overnight. That's how I did it on my first try. Put all the liquid in cold, turn on the pot and off to bed with you. When you wake up in the morning, it will still be warm but the pressure will be long gone, so just remove the lid and carry on with the step where you stick everything in the fridge. Then reheat at dinner time. Easy peasy.
2 (3 lb.) boneless, rolled Boston pork roasts
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried sage
2 large red onions, sliced pole to pole into 1/2" wedges
1 cup apple cider
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple jelly
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
Remove the netting from the roasts and discard. Tie pieces of kitchen twine around the roast to hold it together. (See pictures below.) In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, pepper, salt, and sage. Pat the roasts dry with paper towels and rub them all over with the garlic mixture. Dump some of the onions into the pressure cooker pot, place the 2 roasts in and then add in the remaining onions. Pour in the apple cider and water. Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 180 minutes. (That's 3 hours for those of you who hate math.) Allow a natural pressure release for at least 45 minutes, but several hours is fine.
Carefully remove the meat, as it may be falling apart, and put in a container or bowl and cover. Pour the liquid (with the onions) into a separate container and cover. Chill both for several hours. About an hour before serving, preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Scoop out any congealed fat from the liquid, and pour the liquid into a saucepan. Dispose of the fat into your trashcan or your dog's stomach as you see fit. Add the jelly to the liquid and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, cut the twine off of the roasts and slice into approximately 1/2" pieces. Arrange the slices in a glass baking dish, ladle in a bit of the cooking liquid/onions, and cover tightly with foil. Heat the pork in the oven until the liquid that you're simmering in the saucepan has cooked down to a consistency you are happy with. I simmered it for about 45 minutes, which reduced it by almost half. The pork in the baking dish was plenty hot by then. Once you take the onion gravy off the heat, stir in the cider vinegar. Serve the onion gravy in a bowl separate from the sliced pork roast so everyone can add as much as they like. It's great over potatoes, too.
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| This is what the roast will probably look like when you buy it from the store. You want to remove this netting because it has something akin to elastic in it. You want it tied with just plain old kitchen twine. |
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| This is what it should look like after you tie it and rub it with the garlic mixture. |
