Christmas Spiced-Roasted Johnston’s Pork Sirloin with Grape Cranberry Compote
Courtesy of Uncle Buzz and Pit Master Steve of the “Rub My Butt BBQ Team”. In the fashion of “Christmas bird with cranberry” we have Glühwein spiced Pork topped with a sweet tangy grape cranberry sauce. Who needs turkey! The secret here is the technique of sealing, roasting at a high temp and resting the pork before slicing...all the flavourful juices stay in the roast.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Johnston’s Pork Sirloin Roast boneless
Red Wine and Grape Reduction
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 whole oranges zested and juiced, (zest saved for pork, juice used for reduction)
- 1 cup seedless grapes cut in half
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries
Pork Loin and Spice Crust
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground clove or crushed whole clove
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 2 tbsp crushed chopped garlic
- zest of 2 oranges
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Red Wine and Grape Reduction: Add wine, 1 teaspoon sugar and orange juice to a pot and reduce from 2 cups down to 1/4 cup, add grapes, remove from heat stir gently. Set aside.
- Cranberry Sauce: (follow instructions on bag): 1 cup sugar + 1 cup water + 12-ounce packaged fresh cranberries, bring to a boil, control to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add cranberry sauce to grape reduction mix, stir in the butter, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Pork Loin and Spice Crust: For the spice crust combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, thyme, garlic, salt pepper and zest in a bowl. Rub the pork with oil and press the pork flesh into the spice mixture, allow to marinate for 1 hour, frequently rubbing and pressing mixture onto pork.
- Pre-heat the oven 230ºC. (450’F)
- Heat a thick bottomed frying pan or cast iron skillet, oil the pan and quickly grill all areas of loin until completely sealed. Transfer to the oven and roast 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked to your liking, internal temperature should be minimum 63’C. (145’F). Do not turn while roasting to avoid losing spice rub. When done remove from oven, cover with tinfoil and rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.
- To Serve: Slice thin and fan out on a plate, spoon compote on pork & serve immediately. Serve with roasted winter vegetable like squash & parsnip, mashed sweet potato and garnish with fresh thyme and orange zest.
