Pernil

That's not the most flattering photo, but I was busy working and didn't have time to make it pretty. The main lesson to learn from this recipeis : if the ingredients list sounds weird, listen to your instincts. I was inspired to make this Puerto Rican dish by an internet post and I am glad I tried it. This is definitely a weekend thing though, 3 hours minimum marinade time plus 3hrs of cooking time definitely requires some free time.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork shoulder (about 4 pounds), skin on
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 handful fresh oregano
• 4 teaspoons Kosher salt (1 teaspoon for every pound of meat)
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions

1. Take the pork,  and using a sharp knife, score the surface of the meat with small slits, occasionally twisting to make slightly bigger holes.
2. Mash the garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper into a paste on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife or a mortar and pestle (M&P is the superior way to do this if you have one)
3. Place the paste in a bowl and stir in the oil and vinegar. 
4. Rub the garlic paste all over the pork, being sure to get into the incisions so the salt can penetrate the meat and pull out the moisture - this will help form a crust on the outside when cooked.
5. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
6. Allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Roast the pork for about 3 hours, uncovered, until the skin is crispy-brown and the interior is 165.
8. Let the meat rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing.
   
   
   
   

Thoughts:
This is not complex, the original recipe called for tablespoons instead of teaspoons of salt though, which made the whole outside of the roast too salty to eat. This was rectified by sprinkling a bit of sugar on the meat and that killed off the extra saltiness fortunately though. I also didn't have a skin-on roast, skinless worked just fine though.

One thing worth mentioning though, this is a lot of meat, so unless you are serving a lot of people, you will have extra meat. If you shred the meat, this makes an excellent sandwich. I enjoyed that very much and am looking forward to more.

Next Time:

• Use above amounts of salt.
• Maybe try some fancy side dishes?
• Cook slightly shorter than 3hrs to just get interior to 165 as opposed to 170.

Roasted Herb Pork Tenderloin with Sage Pan Sauce

This is one of my fancy recipes from cooking class. I typically don't like pork, since my childhood was filled with bland, flavorless boot-leather passed off as pork chops, but this recipe is none of those things. It has amazing flavor and is very tender if you don't overcook it.

Ingredients

Roast: 

• 1 lb pork tenderloin - trimmed

Herb Rub:

• 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme - chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary - chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:

• 1 clove of garlic - minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken or beef stock
• 2 teaspoons sage

Directions

Roast:

1. Mix the herb rub together in a bowl.
2. Coat the tenderloin generously with the herb rub and olive oil and marinate for 30minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
3. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
4. Heat a large, dry skillet over high heat.
5. Sear the pork for a few minutes on all sides until browned.
6. Place in a roasting pan and roast until cooked throughout, about 15-20 minutes, when the internal temp is 155 degrees at the thickest part, it is done.
7. Remove from over and allow to rest for 5 minutes

Sauce

1. Retain 1 Tablespoon of fat from the roasting pan, along with any meat juices (from when you cut the roast)
2. Sauté the garlic in the juice over medium heat until tender
3. Add the remaining ingredients, scraping out any browned bits
4. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce over high heat until thickened.

Thoughts:
These recipes make some really good food, and I've made this roast a couple times now and every time it comes out really great. It's one of those fairly simple recipes you can pull out and impress people since the hardest "work" is chopping all those herbs.

This goes really great with sautéed apples and another side, such as green beans.