This recipe is something I just concocted. I've made pork roasts before, but not with these ingredients. And it was REALLY good.

And it is cheap. I use the kind of roast with the big funny bone in the middle. Don't bother with the more expensive boned rolled shoulder, unless it's really on a good sale. Around here that's called a "Boston Roast" or "Boston Butt"; it is a shoulder roast and the funny bone is a shoulder blade. This kind of roast starts out inexpensive, for meat. If it's on sale, even better. I actually found the pork roast with a $2.50 off sticker at the grocery store, which made it similar to the same thing on sale. Mine was about 3-4 pounds. You can adjust upwards. Buy what you can use. If you have a bigger roast you'll need a bigger pot and more potatoes and apples and everything else, and it might need 3 hours to cook.

Note that I don't measure while I'm cooking, so this is all approximate. If you like garlic, use what I did or more. If you like cinnamon, likewise.

This recipe is very very easy. It's good family fare or, if you don't have a lot of people, you can carve up the meat and eat it for days. It will also freeze well (the meat, that is) and be instant dinners for you. It is really good with apple chutney, or any other sort of chutney. Or applesauce.

• 3-4 lb pork roast
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced crossway into rounds about 3/4 inch thick
• 4 large firm apples, cored, NOT peeled, sliced into wedges about 3/4 inch thick at the thick side
• Old Bay Seasoning or other mixed spice rub kind of thing
• 2 Tablespoons or more minced garlic, the ready-minced kind in a jar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• Cinnamon powder
• ginger powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• water

Preheat oven to 350, on bake. Move the rack to the middle of the oven so there is room for your pot.

Remove any large extra fat from the outside of the roast, leaving just a little.

Using a sharp knife, cut deep pockets in the roast for the garlic. Don't go all the way through. Cut where you won't mess up the slices -- along the bone, in places where the meat already is going to separate. Stuff these pockets with minced garlic. The kind in the jar is great... you can just keep going until you get tired of stuffing it in. It will all cook down to mildness and will permeate the meat.

Rub Old Bay Seasoning all over the roast. I probably used 2 tablespoons.

Get out a large heavy covered pot that you can put either on the stove or in the oven. I have an oval cast aluminum roasting pot. Make sure it is big enough to hold the roast with all the potatoes around it. Heat it on high on the stove. Pork is fatty; I did not bother oiling the pan.

Brown meat on all sides. This is a good time to cut the veggies up, since it will take several minutes per side. Do the edges too. Use a carving fork to turn it. Turn the heat off.

Set the meat on one of its flat sides in the middle of the pan. Arrange the potatoes around the meat so they are mostly towards the bottom of the pot. Arrange the apple slices on top of the potatoes, and on top of the meat. Stick a meat thermometer into the meat, not touching the bone (at an angle if needed so you can close the lid).

Sprinkle the top of the whole thing with cinnamon and ginger until all the apples are well dusted. Crumble the brown sugar evenly over the top. Drizzle it with the vinegar and oil. Pour about a half cup or so of water in so you will get plenty to simmer. The apples and potatoes will contribute more water. I ended up with about 2 cups of broth after I was done, which surprised me since I only added a half coffee mugful. Which is what I had sitting there on the counter. Yes, I rinsed it first.

Pop the pot into the oven. Close oven, reduce heat to 275. This cooks slowly and becomes VERY tender.

Mine was at exactly the right internal temperature for pork (170) in 2 1/2 hours. I checked it at 2 hours.

(My old house really looked like that in the winter!)

Got any comments? Send me some

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Last Modified: 4 November 2008