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Question about cooking Pork Loin

2K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  spicyfood 
#1 ·
So I recently cooked a pork loin and it was probably the best thing I've ever cooked. It said "rib end" on the package, it came with butcher string already on it. First I colored it in the pan then threw it on a tray with tin foil in the oven at 375 for 23ish minutes I think it took. I was checking the temps pretty often with my meat thermometer, I decided to take it out at around 140 because I was afraid it would overcook(which it almost did). It probably was medium or medium-well by the time I let it finish resting, a subtle pink which was ideal for me. All I really used for the recipe was a piece of meat, garlic powder, pepper, and big grained salt. I started rubbing butter on it around the 120-130ish temp mark. Not sure if it made a difference, the pork was super tender but didn't really taste like anything besides strong pork flavor.

Now I'm going to buy another one later today but I have a few questions. First, I don't care for fat, the pork loin had like a line of fat in the middle, is that throughout the entire pork loin or is there parts that are just pure pork no fat in the middle? And second, should I use whole garlic and fresh thyme or is powder better? Would onions make any difference? Finally, is there anything else to serve with pork loin? Besides potatoes?
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
If you want a leaner cut you can opt for tenderloin instead. It's thinner and it also cooks quicker. Kudos to you for taking it out at the right time and not overcooking it!

If you want a little extra flavor don't mess around with the roasting, you perfected that. Instead add a sauce! Instead of searing it and chucking it in the oven sear it and then place on a different pan to cook in the oven. Then you are left with the pan you seared in with lots of good bits of porky flavor in which to build a sauce. Tell us what kind of sauce you'd like to make and we'll give you a how to. In the meantime here's my favorite.

In the dirty pan slice up an onion and a garlic clove along with fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary, and/or sage. Gently cook in olive oil until soft. Deglaze the pan with a little white wine or vermouth. Add a cup of chicken stock, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and the juice of a lemon. Allow that to reduce by half then add a few tablespoons of heavy cream. Strain and serve with the pork.
I've tried making pan sauces before but since I'm in an apartment I don't want to pour alcohol in a pan and potentially start a fire. When I cook pork chops on a pan for example this may sound stupid but I hold the pan off the eye trying to cool it down so I can drip some water on there to avoid a massive amount of smoke, then I put some butter in and pour steak sauce in. Then I just use my spoon to keep everything together and get all the black and brown stuff off the pan. I just try to get the steak sauce a thicker, it's not a consistent thickness but I like it. I'll put salt and pepper in it until it tastes good, I just stick my spoon in it then use my finger to get a little off the spoon and taste it.

I know this isnt the right way to do it. I wish there was a way to deglaze properly without alcohol.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
So, a sort of update. I bought two pork tenderlions, this time they aren't prepared with butcher string and they're a lot longer than the last one. Is there a reason why I should put butcher string on the pork loin? I've heard people say you cook flaminyawns with butcher string but Ive never done any of that.
 
Discussion starter · #21 ·
Often a boneless pork loin roast is two pieces tied together. In that case the tying is a real benefit. ;)
Uh yep thats exactly what I found out when i took it out. It was two huge pieces of meat that intimidated me. Luckily I had butcher string so I tied it up really good then cut the whole thing in half so I could fit it in a pan to sear. Ended up not cooking as evenly some parts were 150 while other parts were still 130, so maybe next time I don't think I'll cook the whole thing at once.

So which is it? Pork loin, or pork tenderloin? They are two different cuts.

https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the...k-loin-and-pork-tenderloin-meat-basics-213408

mjb.
The lengthy one. The first time i bought this I bought a "rib end" one, it was pre-tied and smaller. However it had like this ring of fat inside the middle of it. The pork lion I recently bought was like that really lengthy one but it was actually two pieces of meat package together.
 
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