Of Food And Love: Casserole-Roasted Pork Loin Roast

Last night we celebrated my husband’s birthday.  He’s an easy guy to please.  I simply asked him what would make him happy and he got this sly grin on his  face.  “That pork with cabbage.”  I knew it!  Julia Child.  Once you’ve eaten a recipe of hers you’re hooked for life.  She was amazing and she makes me look like I know what I’m doing!

The key is to start early in the day.  I put this beautiful 3lb roast in to marinate first thing.
Your marinade rub will be this per pound of pork: 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme OR sage, 1/8 tsp ground bay leaf, pinch of allspice and an optional 1/2 clove smashed garlic

Let it sit a minimum of 6 hours.  *swoon*

6 hours later. Pull out the meat and dry it off with a paper towel.  Heat 4 Tb of pork fat, lard or cooking oil over medium high heat, wait until it is smoking, then place the roast in and brown on all sides.  Should take about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325.

Slice up a yellow onion and a large carrot (or two small)

At this point, put your Dutch oven on and turn the heat up (or you can do this in your Dutch oven start to finish, which I usually do).  Take 2 Tb of fat rendered from your loin roast and place it in the Dutch oven.  Stir in your veggies and 2 cloves of garlic (optional) and an herb bouquet.  Put the lid on and cook slowly for 5 min.
Herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

Then, put your meat in with the veggies in the Dutch oven, fattiest side up, cover, and cook until you hear it sizzling.  Stick it in the preheated oven, in the lower third of the oven, for 2 hours.  Baste two or three times during this period.

While your meat is cooking, prepare 6 cups of white or green cabbage,  1/2-ich slices.  Set 6 quarts of rapid boiling water with 1-1/2 tsp salt PER quart of water (sounds redic I know.)  Put the cabbage in, once it’s boiling, bring back up to a boil and boil uncovered for 2 minutes.  Then immediately drain and run under cold water for a minute.  Set aside.

After the pork has cooked for an hour place the cabbage all around it.  Fluff in salt, 1/2 tsp, pepper, 1/8 tsp, and optional caraway seeds, 1/2 tsp.

Cover and bring to a simmer on the stove top.  Then, once again, return it to the oven until it’s done.  Don’t forget to baste during that last hour of cooking.

Last night, the meat was so tender, it pulled apart and melted in your mouth.  For all the *doing* this recipe has in it, it’s WELL worth it.