Do you have strong food memories?
I remember creating this dish when I discovered my husband and I were going to have a fourth child!
It was the straw that broke the camel's back . . . or the beer that keeps the cooler open.
I'm trying to go cross-cultural here!
The entrance of Nathanael in our lives convinced me that I needed to learn how to use my crock pot for something other than beans. So one of my first recipes that worked was this pork roast. So when I found out my neighbor had a BABY! I took advantage of the occasion and made them a meal. A meal with something hanging out in the freezer.
Of course I didn't make her 10 lbs of pork roast! My butcher cut up my 10 lb. roast into 4 nice little roasts. We've discussed the care and nurture of your butcher before haven't we?
Pork loins are wonderfully lean and have no bone. You can grill them, BBQ them, saute them, stew them, and pot roast them. We're going to pot roast ours in the pot of greatness!
The pot of greatness is your crock pot of course. This roast has a very thin layer of fat on it. You want to keep that on! It's got a little silverskin and other things that will cook down and make your gravy smooth and rich and delicious! I've actually got my crock pot preheating right now. I even sprayed a little oil in it to keep cleanup easy.
Now for some pot roasting liquid! Crock pots don't allow any liquid to steam off so we're going to be miserly with all the moisture we add to this. A little dry vermouth will be perfect! The wine will make the baby sleep really good . . .
Pour it in a quart size container. We're going to be doing a little mixing in here.
Now for some sliced garlic. This was only 2 large cloves . . . well and a little bitty one that fell off the head. What was I supposed to do with it? It wanted to be included! Garlic is good for your heart anyway. I'm trying to keep it toned down though.
It looks like an art print . . . Allium On Bamboo . . .
Throw it in the wine. It'll start to give up its garlic goodness right away!
My buddy thyme! I used dried thyme because I think the dry herbs hold up better in the crock pot. For the kiddos sake I probably should of used whole thyme stems and picked them out.
My kids are used to there being little specks and flakes in their food. I tell them it's pepper . . .
A little allspice joins the party because it belongs there! You thought it was only for cookies! Seriously, the first time I tasted allspice with pork I went WHOA! That is good. That is a secret ingredient that nobody will EVER be able to guess!
You'll keep my secret won't you? Good, thank you!
Now for some pepper! I always add pepper, it gives me plausible deniability with the children . . .
Now for my secret weapon . . . can't I have two secrets in my dish? This is the easiest way to add a little salt, thickening, and color to your liquid. Besides I'm worried that my hydrolyzed soy protein intake is too low. Listen I was getting ready to have my FOURTH child here. We're talking three boys and one extremely "active" girl . . . have mercy!
Throw it all in and give it a stir!
Now since we're cooking for others I'm just going to drip a little bit of this on my finger and see if it needs any salt.
Okay, just a little tad. It was the sixth ingredient on the gravy packet . . . and I have over two lbs of pork to season.
Now we slice up an onion and separate the rings. I want the kids to feel like they can pick it off.
Today I feel like stirring it all up together in the bowl. That way the salt gets all over the onion and starts to break it down a little. A great portion of our cooking liquid is going to come from that onion cooking!
Pour all parties over the roast.
Now I went ahead and moved the roast on top of the onions so it could pressure them into giving up their liquid. The heat will make the roast give up its liquid too. Cover and cook for 5 hours on high or 8 on low. Or be like me and have it on high when you're at home and turn it down to low when you leave!
We've discussed my need to meddle haven't we?
WAIT! I forgot the bay leaf!
Look! An hour later it's produced a whole bunch of water. I flipped the roast over because I have issues. It really doesn't need it.
Here it is ready to go to the neighbors! See all the lovely gravy you end up with? I didn't have the nerve to slice a piece off, take a picture of it and then put it back in. I don't know them THAT well. I mean, it's bad enough they have to live next to us! I sent over some cork screw pasta and green beans to go with. Oh and a bottle of Pinot Grigio because they just had a BABY!
You can't see but this roast will break right apart if you stick a fork in it. Hardly a speck of grease anywhere! The pork is mild and tender. The gravy has a lovely rich texture and a pleasing saltiness to it. The herbs and spices compliment the roast and gravy making them taste . . . well . . . more . . . porkalicious!
Pork Loin Pot Roast
2 lb pork loin roast
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 whole onion, sliced
1 pork gravy packet (the type you add 1 cup of water to)
2 cloves garlic, sliced or crushed
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground allspice
pepper and salt to taste
Mix all ingredients in crock pot and cook 5 hours on high or 8 on low.
No comments:
Post a Comment