Murray Valley Roast Pork With Quinoa & Fig Stuffing & Caramelized Roast Apples & Cider Jus {DF & GF}
I’m rubbing my hands in delight right now because I genuinely cannot wait to share this recipe with you guys today.
{ I am working with Murray Valley Pork for this post, but please note that all opinions are my own on the product. } A special thanks to North Point Meats Toowoomba for supplying the pork.
So what is on the menu today you may ask well gosh I would be happy to tell you. It’s my Roast Pork With Quinoa & Fig Stuffing With Caramelized Roast Apples & Cider Jus. Does that get your belly rumbling? I mean isn’t this the most perfect recipe for your Christmas table? After hubby and I finished off eating this dish, we felt like we spoiled our Christmas dinner because I wasn’t sure if anything else would meet just how good this pork was.
Murray Valley Pork is an award-winning, 100% Australian pork which is grown on a network of farms in the Riverina region in Southern New South Wales and Victoria. When you get your hands on a piece of Murray Valley Pork, you know that it has been hand-selected from only the finest quality and has undergone a rigorous selection process to be selected into the Murray Valley Pork range. When I sent some leftovers of this pork roast to my family and friends, they said: “Hands down, that was some of the best pork they have ever tasted”. I got this time and time again from everyone who sampled it. This included hubby and me. We enjoy a pork roast often but have never had the pleasure of trying Murray Valley Pork. Our taste buds will never be the same now that we have eaten Murray Valley Pork. It was a superior and delicious flavoured pork that was mild in flavour and juicy and tender. Oh and the crackling. It was to die for!!
One thing though friends you are responsible for how well your crackling turns out. I will be giving you tips and tricks in the recipe to achieve the best ever crackling. Three tips I can give you now is making sure the rind of the roast has been scored. This is extremely important. Murray Valley Pork roasts have been pre-scored, so the job has been done for you. The next tip is pre-salting. It may seem extra work to do this but trust me salt is the key to drawing out the moisture in the skin creating a delicious crackling. You need to let the salt sit on the roast for a minimum of 30 minutes but longer (like up to 2 hours) if time permits. After that, the salt has to be removed and the skin lightly oiled in preparation for roasting. The last tip is oven temperature. You need a roaring hot oven (220C - fan bake) when you first put your roast in to dry out the skin quickly and get the skin to start crackling and turning into the most delicious crunchy goodness.
Three things that elevate this Murray Valley Roast pork to the next level is the Quinoa & Fig stuffing along with the Caramelized Roast Apples and the Cider Jus. The combination of these three makes the most amazing Christmas meal. I concentrated on creating a gluten-free stuffing recipe made from nutty quinoa peppered with sweet pieces of fig, roasted walnut chunks, salty prosciutto and finished with sage and parsley. I love a good stuffing, and this was one of my most favourites that I have created.
The Caramelized Roast Apples are a pleasure to the eye and taste buds and make a decadent side to add with the salty crackling and tender roast pork. A glaze of honey and brown sugar are brushed over the tops of the apples to create the most delicious tasting accompaniment.
What about the sauce you may ask? Well, I definitely did not forget about that. Gravy is life when it comes to a roast, and I cannot go past drowning my meat in it. The Cider Jus is one that packs a flavoursome punch with pieces of celery, onion and carrot layered in the roasting pan, and apple cider, apple cider vinegar and stock are added to the pan along with the roast pork. The juices of the pork as it cooks slowly melds with the other ingredients in the base of the pan to create the most luscious tasting Jus. I made sure enough Jus was made for this recipe that you had enough leftovers for the next day. Trust me you want to have leftover gravy to eat with your leftover meat the next day. Unless you have a gravy monster like me then you might not have any left.
I genuinely hope you have been inspired today with this Murray Valley Roast Pork With Quinoa & Fig Stuffing & Caramelized Roast Apples & Cider Jus. It was a pleasure to create for the Murray Valley Pork team and for you my readers just in time for Christmas day. If you are considering adding a Murray Valley Pork roast to your Christmas table make sure you find your local stockist and order one today for the big day.
Murray Valley Roast Pork With Quinoa & Fig Stuffing & Caramelized Roast Apples & Cider Jus
Prep Time: 1 hour + resting
Cook Time: 2-3 hours
Ingredients (Serves 6)
- 5 kg Murray Valley Pork, boned & rolled shoulder
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/2 cup dried quinoa
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 x leek, finely sliced
- 4 x cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 8 x dried figs, diced
- 100g prosciutto slices
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 egg
- 2 x onions, roughly chopped
- 2 x carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 x sticks celery, roughly chopped
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup apple cider
- 4 x pink lady or red delicious apples, cut in half
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- pinch salt
- Baby carrots
- Broccolini
Instructions
Preparing The PorkPreheat the oven to 180C (Fan bake).
Unpackage the boned and rolled shoulder of pork and pat the skin dry with paper towel. Cover the surface of the pork with salt and rub into the scored marks on the skin.
If the skin has not been scored with a knife, please do so now. Place the pork into a roasting tray and place back into the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to two hours to let the salt draw the moisture out of the skin.
Remove the shoulder of pork from the fridge and scrape of the excess salt and pat dry. Remove the string tying the pork together and open the rolled shoulder up. Trim any excess meat inside the shoulder to allow for the stuffing to fit inside once rolled.
Gently scoop the Quinoa & Fig Stuffing over the middle of the open pork shoulder and press down. Gently roll the shoulder back up and tie into place along the length of the shoulder where the previous string was.
You may need an extra set of hands for this. If some of the stuffing falls out simply press back into the centre of the rolled shoulder.
Quinoa & Fig StuffingMeanwhile, rinse the quinoa grains in a bowl filled with water to remove the bitter taste. Drain off the water and place into a saucepan along with chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer with the lid on.
Once the water has evaporated from the quinoa remove from the heat to cool slightly before placing onto a tray and evenly spread it out and place into the freezer to cool down.
Spread the prosciutto slices onto a lined baking tray and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and let the prosciutto cool.
Place a frypan over medium heat and add in a little olive oil to the pan. Add the leek and garlic and saute for 5-8 minutes or until pale and translucent.
Add in the sage and parsley and briefly cook for 1 minute followed by the dried figs and prosciutto which you can gently crumble into the pan.
Stir to let the flavours meld and remove from the heat. Transfer mixture into a large bowl along with the cooled quinoa, salt and pepper and lightly beaten egg. Stir to combine the mixture.
Cooking The Pork & Cider JusTurn oven up to 220C (Fan bake)
Place the onions, carrots, celery, chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and apple cider into the base of a large roasting tray that will fit the pork roast.
Gently sit the stuffed roast on top of the veggies and pat the skin dry the last time removing any sign of moisture on the skin. Drizzle a little olive oil over the skin of the pork and massage into the entire surface of the pork skin.
Place the roasting pan with the pork into the hot oven and cook for 40 minutes on high before reducing to 180C for the remainder of the cooking time. Cook for a further 2 1/2 hours (** Caramelized apples & roast carrots need to be added 45 min) before cooking time is finished) before removing the roast from the oven and letting it rest covered in foil for a further 20 minutes.
Drain the Cider Jus through a sieve, discarding the cooked vegetables, and place into a small saucepan. Bring the liquid to the boil and simmer with the lid off for 20 minutes to reduce by approx a half. Thicken the liquid with a little cornflour mixed in water to your desired consistency.
Caramelized ApplesPlace the cut pieces of apple onto a lined baking tray. Along with the topped an tailed baby carrots. Drizzle a little olive oil over both the apples and the carrots.
Warm the honey and brown sugar together in a small microwavable jug until the sugar has dissolved. Brush the mixture over the tops of the apple and place into the oven at 180C (about 45 min before the roast is done). Bake for 10-15 minutes before basting again with the honey and sugar mixture. Repeat this process every 10-15 minutes until the apples are cooked and are golden brown.
Remove and let it cool before serving alongside the Quinoa & Fig Stuffed Pork, steamed broccolini and Cider Jus.
Cooks Notes- To work out the cooking time of your roast it takes 20 min for every 500g of meat + 20 mins.
- You can do the prep work of stuffing the rolled shoulder the day before to save you work on the day of cooking.
- The Cider Jus can be frozen along with any meat leftovers you may have.
- If you want to eat the crackling the next day and it's gone a little soft, simply pop under the grill of your oven and warm through until the crackling starts to sizzle and pop again.
