Roast Pork Loin, Part 2: Roasting

After brining the pork loin for 24 hours and curing it for another 48, the meat is ready for roasting.

Unwrap the meat and drain off the liquid. Reserve liquid for basting and glaze. Rinse the meat to get rid of excess salt. (This step is crucial, if you don’t want a very salty roast.)

Pre-heat oven to 160 deg C. Place meat in a roasting pan (ideally, but since I don’t have one, I used an aluminum pan) and roast in oven for 1 hour per kilo, or until internal temperature reaches 140 deg C.

Turn meat and baste with drippings and liquid from cure every 15 minutes or so. Final 10 minutes of cooking should be on the top side to get a nice, caramelized brown surface.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer (like me), a good way to check for doneness is to pierce the thickest part of the meat. If the liquid runs clear (not bloody), your meat is done. Avoid overcooking as this will make the meat dry, tasteless and tough. (Hmmm… Does that sound like somebody you know? hehe)

I got lucky, though, because even without a thermometer, I did my roast just right – juicy, tender and lightly pink!

Let meat stand for a few minutes outside the oven before slicing.

To make glaze, combine liquid from cure and pan juices. Heat over low fire and bring to a boil. To thicken, sprinkle flour while stirring continuously. Alternately, add cornstarch flurry to pan juices.

Conclusions from this experiment:

1. Brining does wonders in making meat juicier.

2. For a sweetish roast, reduce salt and add more sugar to dry cure.

3. It is important to rinse the meat after brining and again after curing to get rid of the excess saltiness.

4. If you don’t own a meat thermometer, a good guide is one hour of roasting per kilo of meat at 160 deg C.

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