“Chris P. Bacon” watercolor by Kathy Maister
Many people just learning to cook are often a bit hesitant cooking a large piece of meat. It seems so intimidating! Well, it doesn’t need to be, at all. This boneless pork roast is a great place to begin. All that is necessary to cook this roast is to mix some dried spices with olive oil, rub it all over the roast and put it in the oven. That’s it!
Roasting a boneless pork loin roast slowly will guarantee moist, tender meat.
Loin refers to the type of cut.
Put the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
There is often a thin layer of fat on one side of the roast. Do not trim off this fat. It will help to keep the meat nice and moist.
Always position the pork roast in the pan so that fat side is on the top.
Measure one tablespoon of olive oil in a small dish.
Add 1 Tablespoon of dried spices to the oil. You can use rosemary, sage, thyme, or oregano; or a combination of these that equal 1 tablespoon.
Add ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Mix this spice rub together and rub it all over the pork roast.
Be sure to rub the spices into the top and bottom.
Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side up.
If you don’t have a rack you could coil some tin foil and use that as a rack.
Put the roast in the 450 degree preheated oven. The hot temperature is going to give the roast a nice golden color.
Set the timer for 10 minutes.
When the timer goes off re-set the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
Continue cooking about 50-80 minutes or until the meat registers 145 degrees on a meat thermometer. Some roasts are long and thin and others are short and fat, consequently the cooking times will vary depending on the shape of your roast. The meat thermometer is the best way to judge the right amount of cooking time.
(As of May 24, 2011 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating its recommendation for safely cooking pork. USDA recommends cooking whole cuts of pork to 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat, then allowing the meat to rest for three minutes before carving or consuming. Ground meats, including ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork, which should be cooked to 160 °F and do not require a rest time. The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 °F.)
Remove the roast from the oven and set on a cutting board. Cover the meat with tin foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before slicing it. The temperature of the roast will continue to rise about another 5 degrees.
You will get at least 6 servings out of this beautiful 3-pound pork roast.
Pork Chops Anyone?
Enjoy!
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