Pork Roast Recipe with Apple, Cider and Potatoes

An easy French pork roast recipe cooked with potatoes and apples in cider. A traditional dish from Picardie in Northern France without any cream. The result is the most juicy roasted pork that just melts in the mouth.

Ingredients for Pork Roast Recipe in a Dutch Oven

What we love about this French recipe is that it's so quick to prepare with few ingredients. Just gather the following quality products together and let the pot do the cooking!

• Pork - ask your butcher for either shoulder or fillet (tenderloin), tied and enveloped in fat to keep the meat moist while cooking, which is removed before serving. If not, envelope it yourself in streaky bacon and tie together with cooking string.
• Potatoes - new potatoes are good but red-skinned potatoes also give a slightly nutty flavour, especially if you keep their skins on (it's healthier too.)
  More on varieties best for cooking on the market page on potatoes.
• Cider - best to use is dry apple cider ('cidre brut' in French), about half a 75cl bottle. Unlike apple cider in the USA which is apple juice, French cidre is alcoholic (about 4%). If you prefer to use apple juice, then pick one that's not sweet with added sugar.
• Rosemary - This cooks well from the beginning, adding a lovely flavour to the pot. Sage or thyme is also good with potatoes and apples. See more below.
• Apples - Cooked separately towards the end of cooking, this stops them from going mushy. Fry them in the rest of the butter and, if organic, keep the skins on.

Which Pork Roast is the Most Tender?

To roast, choose either pork shoulder ('l'échine' in French) or fillet (tenderloin, known as 'filet mignon' in France). These are the best pork roasts for cooking in a Dutch oven, making your roast beautifully tender.

I normally use shoulder for roasting, which is a cheaper cut (well, I am Scottish!) and what I'm using here. In France, it's labelled as 'rôti de porc' (roast pork) at the butcher and tends to be shoulder with the bone removed, tied together and enveloped in fat to keep the meat moist while cooking. If using fillet, either cover in bacon or fat to keep it moist, as it's a particularly lean cut.

What Herbs Go Best with Pork?

Fresh rosemary, sage and thyme all go very well with pork. As these aromatic herbs also cook well at high temperatures, they are best suited to pork roasts and stews. Fresh herbs are best but if you don't have them, freeze dried or dried herbs are good.

How to Cook a Pork Roast in an Enamel Pot

This pork roast recipe is so easy cooked in an enamel pot, which keeps the meat tender. It can either be cooked on the hob or in the oven. If you're using a crock pot, you'll need to double the time on 'slow'.

Heat the oil and half of the butter over a medium-high heat in an enamel pot (Dutch oven) that will fit the meat perfectly. Add a sprig of rosemary to the meat (wedging in the string) and chop up the rest of the herbs for later.

Seize the meat on all sides. When brown, add the potatoes, the rest of the chopped rosemary and sauté until golden, tossing them around in the juices about 3 minutes.

Glaze with the cidre and let it sizzle. Turn down the heat, cover and leave to simmer for 1½ hours (or cook in the oven at 170°C/150°C fan/350°F/Gas 3). Turn the meat and potatoes half way through cooking, basting the roast with the juices.

20 minutes before the end of cooking, wash, quarter and core the apples (peel if not organic). Cut each quarter into 2 slices.

Melt the rest of the butter in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the apples for 6-8 minutes until golden. Keep your eye on them; no more than 10 otherwise they'll turn mushy.

How Long Does it Take?

To cook a pork roast in a Dutch oven enamel pot, it takes a total of 1 hour 45 minutes, including a simmering time of 1 hour 30 minutes. This is based on 1kg (2lb) pork so anything bigger will require longer to cook: a 2kg (4lb roast will take up to 2.5-3 hours). If using a crock pot, timings will be much longer (about double) based on a slow cook.

Can Pork Roast Be Pink?

Unlike beef steak or cooking duck fillets, pork roast should not be pink in the middle. To tell your pork roast is done, no pink juices should be left. When pierced with a skewer, the juices should run clear without any pink showing.

When this happens, remove the roast on to a chopping board and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Then remove the fat and slice these juicy slices. 

How to Serve

When ready, serve the sliced roast pork surrounded by the cidre juice, potatoes and with the buttered apples on the side. It's so tender it melts-in-the-mouth! Serve with dry French Cidre ('brut') or a fruity white wine such as Voignier or Chenin Blanc. For red wine lovers, a fruity Pinot Noir from Burgundy or Alsace will match well.

Serve on its own but if you love extra side dishes of vegetables, then pork roast recipes always go well with glazed Vichy carrots, braised red cabbage (recipe coming), and sautéed green beans.

If you love pork and need a quick recipe, then try our easy Pork in Honey sauce, a delicious mid-week dinner.