One of the really tender and really tasty cuts in any slab of meat would be pork loin. And the very best way for anyone to cook it would be to roast your pork loin. However, you still have a couple of options when roasting this tasty piece of meat. You either roast it the way the French do it or do what the English does. Both methods will give diametrically opposed results. We’ll show you how to cook pork loin using both methods.
The English Way
We’ll first go over how to cook pork loin the classic English way. The way of the Brits will give you pork loin that has the crisp crackling to it on the skin. The idea is to roast the pork on a very high temperature in order to get the crunchy crackling effect when you take bites on the skin and meat.
What You Need:
One whole pork loin – roughly about two kilos with the skin is scored
Rosemary and thyme in small sprigs for the added herb flavoring
Three or four slivered cloves of garlic
A tablespoon of sea salt – the coarse kind or rock salt
Chopped half of an onion – choose a small one
Freshly ground black pepper
Actual Cooking:
Here’s how to cook pork loin in classic Brit fashion. Preheat oven to about 240 degrees Celsius. Check if the skin is dry enough. If you find that the skin is still quite damp then dry it with kitchen paper and sprinkle it with corn flour. If you don’t get the skin dry you won’t get the desired crackling.
Score the fat on a chopping block and insert your thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Rub salt onto the skin as much as you can. Add your freshly ground black pepper to add to the flavor. Spread your chopped onions all over the roasted tin. Place your pork loin on the tin, put it inside the oven, and then you roast it for 20 minutes. After that you lower the heat down to 190 degrees and then do more cooking for 110 minutes.
The French Way
Here’s how to cook pork loin in classic French fashion. You won’t get the crackling on the skin instead you’ll get really succulent meat.
Ingredients:
1.5 kilogram of boned pork loin with the rind removed
Fresh ground black pepper and salt
1 teaspoon sage chopped finely
A pinch of ground allspice
A clove of garlic – slivered
Dry wine or water – 150 ml
Actual Cooking:
Here’s how to cook pork loin the French way. Rub in all the salt, sage, allspice, and pepper into the meat. You leave all of this overnight, or just several hours if you can’t wait, just to let the flavors seep in. After which, you spread the joint flat on a board and layout garlic slivers all over its insides. Roll the whole thing up and tie it using butcher’s string.
Your oven should be preheated to 150 degrees Celsius. Place your rolled pork loin in a roasting pan and add wine or water. Cover with foil or lid, place inside oven, and roast for a couple of hours and 30 minutes. Check periodically and add water if your roasting joint gets too dry. You can tell if its cooked when the meat is already tender. And that’s how to cook pork loin in classic French fashion.
