Battle Pork!

Behold, the latest pound and a half of pork loin that has volunteered to undergo transformation by conductive heat in my oven, all in the cause of my finally cooking a pork roast that is (one) not dry, and (two) not insufficiently flavored. Such were the outcomes the first couple of times I tried roasting a hunk of pig. The first time, I foolishly allowed the loin to reach a target temperature of 165° Fahrenheit (and while still in the oven, no less) forgetting that the meat would continue to cook (and, given the circumstances, overcook) while sitting innocuously on my counter. Blorg.

The second time around, I tried getting by with a mere hour of marinating. Not sure what I was thinking. As you might imagine, not much flavor penetration took place.

In addition, I’ve not been entirely pleased with my selection of marinades/glazes. The flavor hasn’t been bold enough to really influence the pork (when it’s been given time enough to try, that is).

Also - and this is strange for me - I haven’t used enough salt.

So. We’re doing things differently with the latest porcine volunteer. First, better preparation. Next, a decent length of marinating time. Finally, proper monitoring of temperature.

What we have so far for this third attempt ( in addition to a 1.5 to 2 lb. pork loin roast*):

• 12 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons fresh oregano, leaves only, chopped
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly-ground pepper

All ingredients into the food processor or blender (except the pork, of course); puree the mixture, which should come out looking a muddy mess with green bits in it. Use a spatula to coat the pork loin with some of the mixture. If your pork loin is bound by strings but split down the middle, try to work some of the marinade into that split. Place the pork loin into a zippable plastic bag, pour the rest of the marinade in there and seal it up as free of air as you can (as in the image above). Put it the fridge and let it sit overnight; turn it once during that time.

____________________

Now that’s what I’ve done so far. Here’s what I plan to do late afternoon tomorrow:

Remove the pork-in-a bag a half-hour before I intend to stick it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Take the pork loin out of the plastic bag and put it in a shallow roasting pan. Roast it, uncovered until an instant-read thermometer registers 155° Fahrenheit, a good ten degrees short of Big Brother’s usual recommendation. Remove the pork loin from the oven and place it on a rack above a plate so that the meat can rest without sitting in a growing pool of its own juices. Tent loosely with foil and allow to sit for ten minutes.

While the pork is roasting in the oven, I suspect I’ll do something with carrots. But carrots aren’t the big issue. It’s all about the pork tomorrow.

____________________

Update: So this is what happened.

Remove the pork-in-a bag a half-hour before I intend to stick it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Check - except that (1) I set the oven to 400° Fahrenheit instead of 350, (2) I placed a cast-iron skillet in the oven to get it good and hot, and (3) after transferring the skillet to the stovetop (oven mitt!) and setting the flame under it to medium-high, immediately placing the pork loin in the hot oven, I seared the pork loin on four sides, just shy of 2 minutes per side. Then into the oven for…longer than I had expected. I thought that with the searing, I could get away with roasting the pork loin for as little as 30 minutes. Not so, as the thermometer revealed that the loin’s core was a cool ninety degrees. Roasting time was more like an hour and fifteen minutes to get the pork loin up to 155° Fahrenheit. Out of the oven then and onto a rack over a plate, and under tended foil for ten minutes.

I apologize for not having remembered to take a picture of the finished product. By the time the food was done, getting down to eating was the only thing on my mind.

Oh, the pork loin itself? Beautifully crusty-brown outside, juicy inside, and tender. The marinade did its work; the oregano, garlic, and balsamic vinegar imparted a tasty blend of flavors, combined with seared Maillard reaction goodness. Again, not as salty as I had expected, which turned out to be a good thing, I think. M and I judged this roast a success.