Roast Pork Loin with Armagnac-Prune Sauce
- 1/2 cup Armagnac or brandy
- 18 large pitted prunes
- 10 garlic cloves, 6 peeled, 4 minced
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, crushed
- Kosher salt
- One 6 1/2-pound pork loin roast on the bone, rack of rib bones removed in one piece and reserved
- Freshly ground pepper
- 6 cups water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the Armagnac to a boil.
- Add the prunes and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes.
- Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic, caraway seeds and 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Rub the mixture all over the boneless pork loin and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Set the rack of rib bones in a large roasting pan, meaty side up, and season with salt and pepper.
- Set the pork loin on the rack, fat side down.
- Add the 6 peeled garlic cloves to the pan and pour in 2 cups of water.
- Roast the pork for 30 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of water to the pan and roast the meat for 30 minutes longer.
- Turn the pork loin fat side up and roast for about 30 minutes longer, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers 145.
- Transfer the pork to a carving board and cover loosely with foil for at least 10 minutes or up to 20 minutes.
- In a small heatproof bowl, blend the butter with the flour to make a paste.
- Turn the rib rack meaty side down.
- Set the pan over 2 burners on moderately high heat.
- Add 3 cups of water and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often and mashing the garlic cloves.
- Whisk 1/2 cup of the pan juices into the butter paste until smooth.
- Remove the rib rack from the roasting pan.
- Whisk the dissolved butter paste into the pan juices and simmer, whisking often, for 5 minutes.
- Strain the sauce into a medium saucepan.
- Add the prunes and simmer over moderate heat for 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Carve the pork loin into 1/4-inch thick slices and serve with the sauce.
brandy, prunes, garlic, caraway seeds, kosher salt, pork loin, freshly ground pepper, water, unsalted butter, allpurpose
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roast-pork-loin-with-armagnac-prune-sauce (may not work)