Roast Pork Loin

Listen: Jimmy Webb & Linda Ronstadt, "All I Know"
Drink: Rye Manhattan (Old Overholt Rye and Carpano Antica vermouth, with orange bitters and a twist)

Before we came up north, I arranged for butchery and delivery of several hefty pieces of pasture-raised meat. I intended to order two bone-in pork butts, three racks of ribs, and a turkey. I received the butts and the turkey, one rack of ribs, and two whole pork loins. What follows is a recitation of my first attempt to cook an entire pork loin.

The first thing you need to know is that an entire bone-in pork loin is a mother-huge piece of meat. I didn't weigh it because I never get on scales, and wouldn't know where to find a scale even if my svelte Spouse had consented to clutch that unwieldy piece of meat to her moderate bosom. To boot, my preparation of the loin was foiled by the presence of the chine bone and the feather bones (I think -- I have yet to be initiated into the mysteries of butchery). I promptly took the loin to our local, friendly butcher, who (without charge and a big smile for my toddler's "Praise the Lard" tee shirt) made the loin all nice for roasting. I consulted James Beard's American Cookery for roasting times and ideas for preparation. The only useful thing I learned is that the loin should roast in a 325 degree oven, and that I should count on approximately 23 minutes roasting time per pound. This bit of advice was largely wasted on me, however, because I willfully remained in ignorance of the loin's total weight.

I decided to move towards Italy in terms of taste. I trimmed the excess fat on top of the loin and made several deep incisions over the top of the loin. I made a paste of lemon zest from one whole lemon, two tbsp. lemon juice, minced red garlic, olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, kosher salt, and white pepper. I inserted splinters of red garlic and bay leaves into each incision, and rubbed the paste over the entire loin, top and bottom. For good measure, I added a sprinkling of freshly ground white pepper and kosher salt overall. I covered the whole with wax paper and refrigerated for the duration of a summer nap (approximately one hour) plus reading time (approximately another hour). Longer is better for the marinating, so nap or read a bit longer if desired.

I let the meat bask at room temperature while I preheated our cranky gas oven to 450. After about a half hour of basking, I popped the meat into a 450 degree oven in order to get the "sizzle" going, a la Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. After another half hour, I turned the oven down to 325 degrees and added two glasses of good white wine to the pan. I then waited. Nothing much seemed to be happening. By now, it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon -- all good. I parboiled a bag of red creamer potatoes that my mother-in-law bought from the local mega-mart. There was a graph on the outside of the bag that indicated each potato could be eaten in two bites. Who thinks up these things?

Approximately an hour and a half before we wanted to eat, I ladled the parboiled potatoes around the roast, carefully rolling each potato in fat. I waited some more, and scootered with the children in the driveway. About 30 minutes from the desired eating time, my roast was still 20 degrees behind where it needed to be, and the two-bite potatoes were unpleasantly crunchy. I cranked the oven up to 400 degrees.

To shorten the story, we ate approximately 45 minutes later than I deemed desirable. The children ate too many crackers with cheese and the adults consumed too much wine. Neither event was unprecedented in our respective households. On the other hand, both the roast and the potatoes browned up nicely. While the roast was resting, I poured the excess fat from the pan and added approximately two cups homemade chicken stock. I brought the juices and stock to boil, adjusted for seasoning, reduced, and again adjusted the seasoning. I carved the roast into chops except for the plates intended for the children, who are not good with bones. I carved the childrens' portions into rough medallions and piled the extra rib bones on the adults' plates. I smashed the potatoes roughly with butter and salt, and ladled the jus over the potatoes.

Keeps for at least three days in the refrigerator, and reheats nicely paired with rice cooked in chicken stock and butter, and do add some crispy broccoli florets to the plate.