Probiotic Pork Roast

I just finished eating this meal, and it was so good that I have to write about it right away while the flavors are still in my mouth. Pork roast with homemade sauerkraut, apples, onions, and brussels sprouts. Have you ever heard of a more perfect mid-October meal?

It's been about a month since I started the sauerkraut. It's been stinking up the basement something fierce, so I got it out today and put it in jars in the fridge to stop the fermentation. Here's what it looked like. Yes, that's scummy mold on top - or bloom as some sauerkraut lovers like to say. I skimmed it off, took the plate off that had been weighting it down, and mixed up the kraut underneath.

Beautiful! The red and green cabbage combined to make a beautiful bright pink color. It tastes pretty good. It's got a little bit of a musty basement flavor, but all in all, I'd say it's the best batch I've made yet. In case you're not familiar with the benefits of probiotic foods like this one, check out this article at the Weston A Price Foundation website. It's really really good for you. Maybe it's my imagination, but I get a buzz after eating a whole bunch of raw sauerkraut. It's energizing and makes me feel a little tingly. It could be all in my head, but who cares - I like it!

I put it in glass jars and into the fridge to slow the fermentation. I was amazed to find that all that cabbage I'd fermented only filled 5 quarts.

Nothing goes with sauerkraut like pork. I decided to celebrate my best batch of kraut with this beautiful pork roast. I'm ashamed to say it's not local. It's from Jennifer Street Market. Unfortunately, there's nowhere in town to buy fresh (not frozen) local pork.... and I didn't have time to thaw it. Oh well, nobody's perfect, and it is a nice looking roast.

I coated it with some homemade apple butter......

.... and dusted it with black pepper. It went into the oven to start cooking while I chopped some apples and onions.

The apples came from Ashland, WI. Dave does research for school up there, and found some unused apple trees at his research site. He picked a bunch and brought them home - they're really good! This all went back in the oven to keep cooking while I prepped the Brussels sprouts.

I've been holding out on eating Brussels sprouts until now. They're really not too good until after a frost. The cold sweetens them up. I'll be eating a lot of them between now and Thanksgiving.

Once the Brussels were prepped, I added them to the roast and it all went back in the oven.

Here's what it looked like a few hours later. Beautiful!

The white bubbling out of the roast is where we put the meat thermometer in and juices ran out. The apple butter/pepper crust was just perfect!

The flavors were just awesome together. Apples, pork, sauerkraut, Brussels sprouts, black pepper.... it just doesn't get any better than that!

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Pork Roast with Apples Onions and Brussels Sprouts
(for info on making sauerkraut, see this post.)

1 3lb Pork Roast
Apple Butter (directions can be found here.)
Black pepper
4 tart apples
3 yellow onions
Brussels sprouts
Apple cider vinegar
Olive oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the roast in apple butter, and then sprinkle on black pepper to coat. Put the roast in a large glass baking dish and into the oven. Cut the apples and onions into large chunks. Add them to the dish with the roast. Prep the Brussels sprouts (take off outer leaves and trim the ends), and add them as well. Sprinkle a little apple cider vinegar, salt, and olive oil onto the vegetables and toss them to coat. Roast in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours more, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Let the roast rest for a few minutes before slicing. Serve with raw sauerkraut.

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