help,!! company coming, huge pork loin , oh no what do I do?

[lalaland]

ok, greed overcame me and I bought this 20 lb pack of something called "pork loin" for 99 cents a pound. 3 huge chunks, two look like pork chops and are now in the freezer, the third is this huge whale with lots of fat on top, but looks very lean.

I don't know anything about cooking meat ( was vegetarian for years). I wanted to make pulled pork, but after searching cookbooks realize that this is too lean.

What do I do with it? It is 6 am and people are coming over for dinner at 5 pm (hah, they think they are getting pulled pork).

Yikes!!!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Well, you could cut it into one inch peices and barbecue them, or you can season the roast then brown in hot oil in a fryingpan--just to brown the meat, then trasfer to a roating pan and slow roast it in the oven. I'm mot sure of the internal temp that pork needs to be, but I;m sure you could find that info online. Season heavily with rosemary, garlic sage etc.

Pork roast is one of my favourites, but since we don't have pigs yeat, I only gat it when we go to my parents (they know I won't buy it, and kow I love pork)

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

roast, baby, roast!!!

did you say that one of the hunks was a big ol roast with lots of fat?? is it a manageable size??

drag it out of the freezer and see if it will fit in a roasting pan. if no, you can cut it and have two roasts. is it thawed out? we find our loin roasts take a couple of days to thaw in the fridge.. you might have to hurry it.

if its thawed and ready for action - then do this:

* cut up taters and onions and carrots and put them in the bottom of your roaster
* have oven pre-heated to 350*
* optional: if you have a frying pan that is big enough, sear in roast(s) on all sides to brown it quickly
* or just whomp the roast on the veggies FAT SIDE UP, salt and pepper on top (coarse salt and pep is best), sprinkle some thyme on top - or top with fresh thyme sprigs
* roast, making sure a little bit of fat/liquid is in the bottom of the pan ... the fat will render into the bottom of the roaster.. or you can add a bit of liquid so your veggies dont burn to a crisp
* depending on how big it is, the roasting will take 1.5 hrs or more... our roasts are cut as big as... well... as long as my laptop and take 1.5hrs
* you'll know when you are getting close b/c the roast will smell heavenly, will have a golden hue, and the internal temp should be a min of 160*.. but that will be a bit rare. the newer recommendations are for 170*
* let it rest for at least 10 mins after you take it out of the oven - it will hold the heat and allow the roast to be juice

good luck!

 

[sufficientforme]

I pulled a few from my favorite cooking site all with good ratings. I always read reviews and see what changes others have made and adjust if necessary to fit our tastes.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Tender-Roast-Loin-Of-Pork-18039
http://www.recipezaar.com/Roast-Pork-Loin-and-Potatoes-50284
http://www.recipezaar.com/Glazed-Pork-Loin-Roast-7763
http://www.recipezaar.com/My-Favorite-Nearly-Non-Fat-Spice-Rubbed-Pork-Loin-Roast-123859

Have Fun!

 

[meriruka]

roast, baby, roast!!!

did you say that one of the hunks was a big ol roast with lots of fat?? is it a manageable size??

drag it out of the freezer and see if it will fit in a roasting pan. if no, you can cut it and have two roasts. is it thawed out? we find our loin roasts take a couple of days to thaw in the fridge.. you might have to hurry it.

if its thawed and ready for action - then do this:

* cut up taters and onions and carrots and put them in the bottom of your roaster
* have oven pre-heated to 350*
* optional: if you have a frying pan that is big enough, sear in roast(s) on all sides to brown it quickly
* or just whomp the roast on the veggies FAT SIDE UP, salt and pepper on top (coarse salt and pep is best), sprinkle some thyme on top - or top with fresh thyme sprigs
* roast, making sure a little bit of fat/liquid is in the bottom of the pan ... the fat will render into the bottom of the roaster.. or you can add a bit of liquid so your veggies dont burn to a crisp
* depending on how big it is, the roasting will take 1.5 hrs or more... our roasts are cut as big as... well... as long as my laptop and take 1.5hrs
* you'll know when you are getting close b/c the roast will smell heavenly, will have a golden hue, and the internal temp should be a min of 160*.. but that will be a bit rare. the newer recommendations are for 170*
* let it rest for at least 10 mins after you take it out of the oven - it will hold the heat and allow the roast to be juice

good luck!

Seconding this, except to add, I usually roast fat side down & baste, that way if the bottom gets too crispy, you can just scrape it off, also I coat the roast w/ djion mustard in addition to all the other seasonings.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there!

If you want a pork dish which is soft & almost falling apart, like Pulled Pork, have a look at this recipe where you cook it in milk. It tastes delicious. I have tried both Spanish & Italian versions of this recipe.

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/512656

Good luck with your meal.

Hattie

 

[freemotion]

If you have some REAL chicken broth available, homemade, then saute' some onions, garlic, and mushrooms in chicken fat. Add the broth and some scallions and simmer it to reduce it by half.

Cut up some of the pork roast and brown it in fat. It won't brown too much because it is a very lean cut. Add it to the broth and simmer until cooked through.

Thicken the gravy with either cold water and cornstarch, cold milk and cornstarch, or flour if you prefer. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve over pasta or rice with veggies and salad on the side.

I don't know how to do this with store-bought broth, since even in years past I couldn't use it, since they usually put celery in it....I'm allergic to celery.

And, BTW, this was an example of intelligence and thrift, not greed, when you bought 20# at a buck a pound!!!! IMO!!!!

 

[lalaland]

y'all rock! now I have a plan, ok, 2 plans, no.....5 plans.... everything sounds so good. will let you know how it turns out.

 

[Dace]

Have fun!

 

[Ldychef2k]

When I used to cater, pulled pork was high on the list of requests. I would make a rub using salt, pepper, brown sugar (ratio is 8 parts sugar to one part salt), garlic and onion powders, sometimes a bit of whatever pepper powder I had -- like cayenne or chipotle, but those are maybe too spicy for Minnesota

Anyway, I would rub the entire surface liberally with this mixture, then wrap it securely in multiple layers of heavy foil, place in a roasting pan in the oven at 250 fior 12 hours. You can hurry it up, though, and go to 300 for as long as you possibly can. If it has been wrapped securely, it won't leak and all the moisture and flavor will stay in the meat.

Oh, traditionally I did two layers of foil, one of brown paper bag, and thne sealed again with foil. The bag seemed to help hold in the juices and helped almost steam it.

Let it rest about 20 to 30 minutes before unwrapping, then "pull" with two forks and slather in your favorite BBQ sauce.

Oh, if I want to fake like I smoked it, I add some liquid smoke to the package before folding over the first layer of foil.

Edited to remove picture because what I end up with doesn't look that good, so I was trying to stack the deck so you would pick mine!