MINTED PORK LOIN

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
Wigs, many years ago, when you and I were both young, you posted a recipe for a pork loin rolled up with orange, mint and onions. I am a bit slow, but usually do come through. I finally made it last night.

I'm glad I did. I was looking for something a little different and had copied this recipe. We thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer (it lost the showiness) and I am pleased to report that it worked just fine. Thank you.

MINTED PORK LOIN

I think I already posted the following at the old Gail's, but it bears repeating! This pork loin recipe is from CHRISTMAS WITH SOUTHERN LIVING 2004. The meat has a spiral filling of fresh mint, citrus and onions. It's a showy roast that looks lovely on any table!
Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
3 medium-size sweet onions, chopped Wigs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup orange juice
2-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, divided
1 (4-pound) boneless pork loin roast
1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 medium-size sweet onion, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Garnishes: fresh rosemary, fresh mint, orange slices.

Saute chopped onion and garlic in 1 Tablespoon hot olive oil in a large skillet for about 8 minutes. Stir in mint, orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring often, 5 minutes or until orange juice evaporates.

Butterfly roast by making a lengthwise and horizontal cut down center of roast, cutting to within 1/2" of other side. Open roast, and place between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/2" thickness, using flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Spread onion filling over meat, leaving a 1" margin around edges. Roll up roast; tie at 1" intervals with heavy string.

Combine remaining 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, rosemary, minced onion, and 1 Tablespoon oil. Spread over roast. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees; bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 160 degrees.
Remove string. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish, if desired.

(NOTE: Personally, I think cooking to 160 is too high an internal temp so I remove pork from the oven when it's around 140 to 145 degrees and tent with aluminum foil and let rest 20-30 minutes before slicing.)

 
I’m impressed. The last two times I tried pork tenderloin it ended up as a leathery inedible that should have but didn’t resemble meat.

It’s also the last time I tried pork tenderloin.

Kudos to you and wigs.

 
Cooking to the noted recommended 140* will help you there. The old temps are 'way too high--and dry meat will result! ;o)

 
I've learned over the years, that the growers have taken so much of the fat out of the pork, and it does not cook the same way as it used to. Pork tenderloins take hardly any time at all to cook. Not my favorite cut of meat, but very popular with a lot of folks who like the ease of cooking them. I like to prepare them with an Asian marinade. Seems to work well for me and adds a lot of flavors

.

 
I’ve got two ridiculously expensive probe thermometers and still manage to end up with dry meat. I’ve just stopped beating my head against the meat counter and eat more tofu.

 
I won't deter you from a grain based diet but will offer this.

With something like pork tenderloin it cooks so quickly that a thermometer might not even register quick enough. With instant read and probe thermometers you need to find the place on the probe where the termperature actually registers--it isn't always in the end so the probe for a cylinder like pork tenderloin or a beef tenderloin needs to be inserted horizontally rather than vertically to register correctly.

I don't know if that is a solution or not--but just in case.

For pork tenderloins I do sort of as Karen does--an asian marinade (my fave is soy sauce, garlic powder and ginger marmalade). I sear the meat on all sides in a hot cast iron pan and then finish in a 425* oven for 15 minutes. I serve with a fresh batch of marinade.

 
I’ve done the horizontal thing. I’ve done the “probe the thickest part” thing. I’ve done the “avoid the bone” thing. I’ve done the “manual touch” thing.

Now I’m just done.

 
I, too, had given up on successfully cooking pork. We recently tried sous vide for pork chops and also tenderloin. Gamechanger! Very moist and actually edible. Quick flip on the grill just to add color.

 
I agree. I didn't even use the probe, simply because it was too small a piece and it was stuffed. By the time I would have been able to find the right spot, the meat would have been overcooked, in a minute. I just used faith. Faith worked that time.....it was done perfectly.

If I cook a tenderloin whole, I use a probe but don't have much confidence in it. The only way I eat it whole is sliced thick and with a tarragon mustard sauce which can hide any imperfections. It has been a trial over the years, with pork being less fatty and our having the confidence to eat it not quite so well done.

My next challenge is finding pork that reliably comes from piggies that are not mistreated cuz some of what I see would turn me off a meal.

 
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