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. 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.
Brined Herb Crusted Pork Sirloin Roast
Ingredients
For the brine
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
For the herb crust
- your choice of a combination of fresh or dried thyme rosemary, and/or tarragon
- canola oil
- kosher salt
Instructions
To make the brine
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Combine all the brine ingredients into a saucepan over high heat.
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Cook until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
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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.
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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.
How to cook the roast
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Preheat your oven to 250 degrees
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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.
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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.
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Then add your herb combo to all sides of the roast (the amount you use depends on the size and shape of the roast).
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Slice and enjoy!
I want to see more photos, ok?
I just added another photo at the top of the page of the pork roast sliced up. If there is a certain photo of the whole process that you would like, let me know and I will take some more pictures next time I cook one.
I cooked this last night following the recipe to the letter. It was fan-damn-tastic! Mine was in the brine for four hours. It was so tender and juicy I almost could have passed it off as pork tenderloin, instead of pork sirloin. Thanks for the tips.
We made this tonight and it was amazing. I was going to make my own spice blend, like the recipe called for, but my mom had picked up a specialty seasoning in Hawaii and I decided to use it instead. (http://aliikulalavender.com/p-54-lavender-gourmet-seasoning.aspx) It was PHENOMENAL. This will be a must-make recipe anytime pork sirloin is on sale at the grocery store. 🙂
Thanks so much for this post!
Absolutely amazing. Could not believe how juicy this pork was. This was only the second time I used a brine, the first being on some chicken breast, and I can’t believe the flavor deep inside the meat. I missed the part about heating the brine first, so I merely stirred the salt, sugar, and peppercorns into my liquid. I also had no vegetable stock, but I did have some home canned turkey stock. This will be on my list of repeats!