Roasted Pork Loin

When Sunday rolls around, a Roast Pork Loin, is near the top of my favorite things to cook list.  There’s something special about a roast, that gets the whole family together around the table for a “traditional” meal, and while I love roast chickens, roast beef, a roasted pork provides a ton of great options.  In this recipe, I’ll show you that treated right, the pork stays tender and moist in the center.  And gives you a great, flavorful sear on the outside.  Finally, I’ll show you how to use some herbs provide kick it up one more notch.  Served along with some roast potatoes, and maybe a simple vegetable side dish, and I’m in heaven.  Give it tray, and I hope you enjoy it!

Recipe Overview and Keys to Success

To make the best Herb Roasted Pork Loin make sure to do the following:

1. The pork loin is a big hunk of meat and needs a good amount of seasoning & herbs, so don’t be shy about using a good amount.
2. You may be tempted to just slide the pork in the oven and skip the sear; don’t.  Searing gives the outside quite a bit of flavor, and a great texture
3. If you have time, brine the pork loin for 8+ hours
4. Don’t trim the fat.  Pork is pretty lean meat, and fat is flavor.  The outside layer is important to leave on, as it flavors and moistens the meat
5. Cook the pork to the right temperature.  The best way to tell when the pork is done is with a meat thermometer.  Once it hits 140 degrees, pull the pork loin out to rest.

• 1 3 – 4 lbs pork loin
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoons sage
• 1 tablespoons rosemary
• 1 tablespoons parsley
• 1 garlic blub
• Red or White Wine
• Chicken Stock

• Cut off the top of the garlic blub to expose the flesh of the cloves and put the blub on some aluminum foil
• Drizzle the blub with olive oil, then wrap in the foil, and put into a 250 degree oven for 45 minutes to roast the garlic
• Once the garlic is cooked, allow it to cool, and remove the cloves from the skins, and put into a sauce pan with the butter and all the herbs
• Cook over low temperature for about 5 minutes, smashing the garlic with the herbs and butter to form a kind of paste
• Remove and allow the paste to cool to room temp
• Butterfly the pork loin to open it up flat (see the video for a demo)
• Once opened, season the pork with salt and pepper, and then spread the garlic/herb paste over the meat
• Now roll the meat back up to reform the pork loin, with the seam resting on your cutting board
• Cut 4 – 5 strings about a foot long, and slide them (one at a time) under the pork loin, tying each string together to hold the pork loin together.  It doesn’t need to be pretty
• Season the outside of the pork loin with salt and pepper
• Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees
• Heat a sauté pan over high heat for a few minutes, then add olive oil to coat the pan
• Lay the pork loin in the pan, searing off one side.  After 3 – 4 minutes, when browned, turn the loin 180 degrees to brown the other side for another 3 – 4 minutes
• Repeat on the remaining two sides until the entire pork loin is golden brown
• Move the entire pan (or transfer to a roasting pan) into the hot oven
• Now is the time to add any vegetables (blanched potatoes or carrots) to roast along with the pork
• Roast the pork loin for about 45 minutes, but it’s most important to watch (using a meat thermometer) the internal temperature, which you want to get to 140 degrees
• Remove the roast pork loin from the oven, move it to a resting tray to sit for 5 – 10 minutes for the juices to settle (now’s a great time to make a sauce)
• Deglaze the pan with a ¼ cup of wine (red or white, your choice) and allow the wine to reduce by half
• Add a ¼ cup of chicken stock, and any herbs (I like rosemary) you like, and again let it reduce 
• If you have left over roasted garlic, you can add that as well
• Taste the sauce and add seasoning if needed, then turn off the heat, and add two tablespoons of butter, which you should quickly stir in to thicken the sauce 
• Slice the pork loin into ½ inch slices, and spoon a bit of the sauce right over the top

Pinot Noir is by far my favorite goto wine to pair with roast pork loin.  The richness of the pork (especially with the sauce) goes perfectly with the slight tannin in Pinot.  And the relatively (relative to say a Cabernet) mild flavor in the wine doesn’t mask the more subtle flavor in the pork.  Enjoy!