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.