Oven Braised Pork and Sauerkraut

We know it’s tradition to have homemade pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day as a symbol for good luck in the year ahead. Boost your New Year’s Day meal into next level flavor with this incredibly delicious Oven Braised Pork and Sauerkraut entrée. A pork tenderloin from Blackberry Meadows Farm soaks in flavors of orange zest, spices, After the Fall hard cider, and Clarion River Organics sauerkraut.

Oven Braised Pork and Sauerkraut Recipe

INGREDIENTS
2 ½ lb pork tenderloin or 2 smaller tenderloins
1 ½ tsp Spicewalla cracked coriander pepper mix*
¾ tsp black pepper**
¾ tsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 ½ tsp dark brown sugar
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp allspice berries, coarsely crushed
1 white onion, halved, thinly sliced, then cut into thirds
4 bay leaves
1 Honeycrisp apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 ½ tbsp crushed garlic**
¾ tsp orange zest from approximately 1 large navel orange
½ cup hard apple cider, such as After the Fall ciders
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups sauerkraut, drained
2 ½ cups chicken broth
1 tsp black pepper**
½ tsp dark brown sugar
1 ¾ cups cubed red potatoes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Rub the coriander pepper spice mix, black pepper, Kashmiri chili powder, and brown sugar on all sides of the pork loin(s). Then, heat 3 tbsp of oil in a large Dutch oven. Once it is hot enough, sear the loins, remove, and set aside.
3. In the same Dutch oven, add the allspice berries and bay leaves, followed by the onions. Stir and cook for a minute, before adding the sliced apples, garlic, and orange zest. Cook for an additional minute, before adding the hard apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and sauerkraut. Stir to combine everything.
4. Lastly, pour in the chicken broth and sprinkle in the black pepper and brown sugar. Stir again and place the seared pork loin on top of the sauerkraut and apple mixture, pushing it down so it is partially submerged. 
5. Cover and place in the preheated oven to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover and add the cubed potatoes, making sure they are submerged. Taste and add a little more brown sugar if needed to balance the sourness of the sauerkraut. Recover and place back in the oven for an additional 1 hour to finish cooking.

*Note 1: If you don’t have Spicewalla cracked coriander pepper mix, substitute with 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds, ½ tsp black peppercorn (crushed,) ¼ tsp paprika, pinch of mustard powder, rosemary, and thyme.

**Note 2: If using black pepper garlic tenderloins, you can omit both the black pepper and garlic from the recipe or keep it in based on your preference.

Recipe by Veda Sankaran / Photography by Dave Bryce

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