It doesn’t have to be tasteless if you get a little help from your friends.
When I get stuck on just about any problem, I often go to my Facebook friends to help solve it. The solutions often prove to be far better than I imagined. Such was the case recently with my long-time inability to cook a pork loin roast that tastes like anything. Anything at all.
Some years ago, Esquire magazine published its “Most Mundane” issue and named pork the “most mundane meat.” When it comes to pork loin, I can see that.
But now, with a little help from my Facebook pals, the loin not only has taste (albeit not its own), but it has become a veritable oral explosion.
The suggestions came by the dozen and included some of these tips:
Nikaya Dahn Smith suggests pan searing the pork loin in spices, then slow roasting in root beer or Dr. Pepper with “plenty of fresh garlic cloves.”
Lindsay Hughes McKinnon likes “marinating in simple things like salt, pepper, herbs de Provence, a squirt of lemon.” It is “light, savory, flavorful.”
Jennifer Grover’s favorite is to “cook it in orange juice with garlic, rosemary, thyme, onion and sea salt and black pepper. Long, slow cook.”
Roni Sutton brines a pork loin overnight in salt water with garlic and onion, then roasts at 325 degrees with carrots, potatoes, onions and beef bouillon.”
Robert Lusk suggests you “marinate it for 24 hours in Goya Mojo Criollo (Kroger has it). Cook in a crockpot for four to six hours.”
Bill Hazlegrove’s solution goes like this: “Broil to sear, about seven minutes, then cut the enter longways an inch deep. Fill with mango chutney and place back in oven at 250 degrees until juices run (10-15 minutes).”
Dan Radmacher suggests you “make a paste with garlic, rosemary and olive oil and rub that on it if you don’t have time for marinade.”
Gazell Hall recommends “MoJo, a Spanish/Cuban marinade if the tenderloin is thin.”
Amy Rebecca Shea inserts “garlic cloves into slits all over, then salt and pepper to taste. Bake it with olive oil and lemon juice, adding fresh rosemary.”
Pat Pfister says to brown both sides, then “add cup or more of apple juice. Turn down the heat to simmer and cover 25-30 minutes. Add sliced apples and cook with cover until the apples are soft.” She adds that center cut chops “are too dry” for just about any use.
Khristina VanHall Williams uses a crock pot filled with the loin peppers, onions, mango juice and mango chunks. Add some preferred hot sauce.” Apples can work instead of mango.
Mary Wright uses “a dry rub of onion and garlic powder. Brush both sides with some Hoisin sauce and put in shallow baking dish with about a quarter inch of water in the bottom. Cook at 400 degrees until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.”
Of all the recipes submitted, though, I think I like Robin Miles’ best. It features cranberries and orange simmered in a crock pot. Robin got the recipe from Lynnda Cloutier, a magazine writer.
Basically, it goes like this:
Ingredients:
- 1 pork loin roast, trimmed and tied at one-inch intervals
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 14 ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3 strips orange zest, trimmed of white pith, 3 inches long each
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet until it smokes and brown the pork well on all sides.
Stir in the cranberry sauce, cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, and cinnamon into slow cooker. Put the browned pork into the cooker. Cover and cook until pork is, about four hours on low.
Transfer the cooked pork to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Let the liquid settle for five minutes, then remove the fat from surface using large spoon. Discard orange zest. Transfer the braising liquid to a pan and simmer until it is reduced to two cups, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon a cup sauce over the meat and serve with remaining sauce.
No way on god’s green earth that will be dull.
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).
