Confessions of a Chronic Non-Measurer: Garlic and Rosemary Rubbed Pork Loin Roast
I’m going to be up front here. I rarely follow a recipe. I hardly ever measure. I cook with the mystical powers of “well, that feels about right.” And it works for me.
I love to cook. It took about two years of marriage to really get into the groove of cooking with disaster after disaster ending in the trash with a shrug and a “tonight’s a dinner out night.” I learned a lot through trial and error. I learned what spices we like and in what quantity, so with years of disasters and successes behind me, I feel confident in using the technical measurements of a “bit here”, a “swig there”, and a “dash of that.”
Some recipes lend themselves better to this type of cooking. When I am cooking something I have repeatedly, it makes eyeing it easier, but there are a lot of forgiving recipes out there that allow for experimentation and changes without needing the recipe police to approve it.
This recipe is one of those recipes. Don’t like rosemary? Switch it out for something else. Aren’t a big fan of garlic? Reduce it and add olive oil to add moisture. Like the flavor of lemon with your meat? Add some lemon juice to the mixture. Need to make a holiday feel? Pile this roast on apple slices and let the oven fill your house with the scents of sweet and spice.
The amazing thing is, no matter what you do, this roast turns out top notch and ready for the guest meal table. It is so easy to prepare that it is a no brainer that pork loin roasts are a common holiday menu item. It is classy, delicious, and juicy, mixing it well with other holiday favorites.
Recipe: Garlic and Rosemary Rubbed Pork Loin Roast
Ingredients
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
A nice heap (4 teaspoons) fresh rosemary
Shake it until it feels right (1 1/2 teaspoons) coarse salt
Grind a couple times (1/2 teaspoon) ground pepper
1 2 1/2 lb. pastured pork loin roast
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Mix seasoning ingredients into a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the pork.
Place pork, fat side down, into roasting pan (covered in aluminum foil for easy clean up).
Roast pork for 30 minutes. Turn roast fat side up.
Roast until thermometer registers 155F. I roasted mine approximately 25 minutes more. You can take the roast out earlier than 155F if you like your roasts to be on the medium rare side. I didn’t mind roasting mine to 155F because it still turned out juicy and not dry at all.
Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
Looking for quality meats for your holiday festivities? Our farm store is stocked with pork loin roasts, ham steaks, prime rib roasts and more. Treat yourself this holiday season. Our store hours are Saturdays, 9 am - 2 pm, and Wednesdays, 3 pm - 8 pm.
