I need a recipe for a pork loin cooked in a dutch oven...

Cafe Society
1

Ok, well, want is probably more accurate than* need*, but I’m appealing to the Doper gourmands for inspiration.

It’s 7:45 PM and I just nestled a 5 lb. pork loin in a brine for the evening. Tomorrow, I’d like to slow cook it in my cast iron dutch oven. I’d like to hear ideas for the best way to do this. I plan to sear the loin on all sides before starting the slow cooking. Good idea or bad? What should go in the pot with it? How long and what temp is good for tender deliciousness? 300 degrees for 4 hours? Longer?

2

350 for 2-2.5 is more like it.

Brown the loin, then remove and saute up some onions and some sliced carrots. Put the loin back in the pot, add salt, pepper, a bay leaf or two and a bottle of beer. Something not very hoppy, dark preferred. Cover and stick in a 350 oven for 2 to 3 hours, or until tender.

Remove the done loin and strain the fat off the remaining liquid. Discard bay leaf. Run the gravy and the veggies through the food processor until smooth. Spoon over sliced loin and serve.

3

That sounds really good, thanks! Will the pork retain any crispiness on the edges?

4

Not much, but a little. Depends on how much you brown it. But the cooking with liquid will get to even the crispiest bits, I’m afraid.

5

Well, better tender and tasty, than crispy but dry.

6

Kudos to you sir! The roast pork was excellent. Juicy and delicious. But he gravy… the gravy was freakin’ awesome.

7

De nada. It’s a very versatile gravy. You can add mushrooms after the blend, for example. Or toss in a garlic clove. Let you imagination run wild.

8

(drool)

9

Yeah, that’s pretty much my reaction every time my wife makes it. She usually does a mushroom version that has…something else in it. Maggi, maybe? That lifts it into the stratosphere.

10

What?

11

Maggi

A little bottle of wonderful.

12

I think (but I don’t know since I’ve never tried Maggi) that Kitchen Bouquet might be a similar product, though KB is made from other caramelized vegetables.

13

Sold!

Teach me about brining, please?

14

Interestingly, I made a pork loin in a dutch oven Saturday. Pretty much the same technique discussed above, with one variation. After rinsing the brined pork loin and patting it dry, I cut twelve slits, about an inch wide and an inch and a half deep, in the skin/fatty side of the loin. The slits were three apart and four down, evenly spaced. I had taken 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cracked pepper, and 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme and mixed them together. I also took a couple of garlic cloves and sliced them lengthwise into twelve thin slices. I put about 1/8 tsp of the salt/pepper/thyme mixture into each slit, and one of the garlic slivers. I then took twelve bay leaves and put one of them into each slit as far as I could. About half of each bay leaf protruded. The remaining salt/pepper/thyme mixture was sprinkled over the top of the loin.

I took a big white onion and sliced it thickly - about five slices. I put these in the bottom of the dutch over, and put the pork loin on top of them. I then poured a full bottle of Madeira into the pot. I placed a piece of parchment paper directly on top of the loin, and then covered the dutch oven.

This went into a 325 degree oven for 4 1/2 - 5 hours. At the end of this time, I removed the loin to a warm platter, removed the bay leaves, tented it with foil and let it rest. I strained the cooking liquid through a fine sieve, smushing the onion against the sieve with a wooden spoon to get as much juices as possible out of them.

In a large skillet I sautéed in two tablespoons butter chanterelle, shitake, and oyster mushrooms that had been sliced into pieces about 1/3 inch wide. Cooked them about five minutes before I added the strained cooking liquid, and continued to cook the mushrooms until the liquid had been reduced by half. At this point I added a half pint of cream, and cooked until warm.

The pork absolutely fell off the bone! We served it with sautéed spinach and creamy grits, with the mushroom sauce spooned over the pork and grits.

Heaven on a plate! Sorry I’m so late to the thread.

eta re:brining. Easy. Dissolve kosher salt in cold water at the rate of one cup of salt to one quart of water. Do not use regular table salt - the brine will be too salty if you do. Make enough brine to cover the pork after you’ve put in in a container. Pour the brine over it, cover the container, and store in a cool place for 12-24 hours.

15

A slightly different take, inspired by an absolutely life-changing meal I once had at Rio Mar, a Warehouse District restaurant in New Orleans. The real thing was apparently a family recipe from Cuba. Mine is an approximation, but it gets the job done.

Essentially, sear (or don’t. Your preference) the pork, add to pot, and add liquid of your choice. Then add ground cumin, allspice, ground red pepper (I actually prefer chipotle. The smokiness is wonderful), salt, pepper, garlic cloves, and…

Cocoa powder.

This is the base flavor, and in a savory context such as this, it’s absolutely incredible. Slow roasting pork in a cocoa powder broth has become one of my very favorite tricks.

Serve with sliced avocado and fried plantains, for even more authenticity.

16

Do you want to know why, or how?

The brine I used this time was 8 cups of water. Half cup salt, half cup sugar, handful of black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves. Bring 2 of the cups of water to a boil, dissolve salt and sugar in it. Take off the heat and add the rest of the water, peppercorns and bay leaves. Then add the meat and refrigerate for as long as possible, at least 4 hours.

17

How. I’ve marinated before, but never brined. Figured it was probably more than just salt and water, although thanks Labdad.

Overnight is better though, right?

18

Yes, overnight is better. You can Google different brine recipes, that’s just a basic one.