Eat Like No One Else

Click here to ready other posts on the topic of pork.

If you are looking for a good and cheap pork roast, give the sirloin roast a try. I has gotten it on sale for under $2 a pound. The sirloin roast comes from the loin area of the pig. The loin is divided into 3 sections, the blade, the center, and the sirloin. The sirloin is the area close to the back of the pig. It has less fat than the blade, but it not as tender as the center. The roast can dry out easily if you are not careful. It can be nice and juicy if you follow my simple instructions below.

Instructions

In order to make this a juicy roast, it best to soak it in a brine before you cook it. A brine will bring flavor to the inside of the meat via the process of osmosis. This brine is based on a brine Alton Brown used for slow cooked pork chops on an episode of Good Eats.

Ingredients for the Brine

2 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan over high heat. Cook until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Then remove from the heat and add about 1 pound of ice to cool the brine down. Give it a good stir and set it aside. Now take your pork sirloin roast and place it in a gallon sized plastic bag and dump the brine into the bag. Seal the bag well, place it in a container just in case the bag leaks, and place it into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, 6 if you can. I have found that even 2 hours does make a difference. I have also found that if you leave it too long it becomes too salty for our family.

Once the pork has finished it’s soak, take it out of the bag, lightly rinse off the roast, and pat with a power towel to dry. While you are doing this preheat your oven to 250 degrees. You have added flavor to the inside of the meat, now it’s time to add some to the outside. You will need the following for the crust.

Ingredients for Herb Crust

your choice of a combination of fresh or dried thyme, rosemary, and/or tarragon

canola oil

kosher salt

Rub down the roast with a bit of canola oil, just enough to make it a little shiny. Then sprinkle kosher salt all over the roast. Then add your herb combo to all sides of the roast (the amount you use depends on the size and shape of the roast). Place the roast on a roasting pan with the side with the most fat up (and this is a leaner cut so there won’t be too much fat). Then insert a probe therometer on an angle through the center of the meat (this is really the only way to know for sure when your roast is done). Place into the oven.

You want your roast to be cooked between 160-165. So when the roast hits about 130-135 pull it from the oven and cover it with foil. Then turn the oven up to 500 degrees (this will give it a nice flavorful crust). The roast will rise about 10 degrees while your oven is moving up in temperature. When the oven is ready, remove the foil and return the roast to the heat. When it hits about 150-155 pull the roast from the oven. Cover with foil again and let it rest for about 10 mins and the temperature should be between 160-165 when that time is up. Slice and enjoy!

Click here to ready other posts on the topic of pork.

Tags: Alton Brown, Cheap, Good Eats, Herbs, Pork, Probe Therometer