Cooking For Engineers

[Dilbert]

A Pork Roast Primer

There's nothing magic in this preparation - I'm a big fan of not roasting meats fast.
Taken to the extreme that's sous vide - which I don't do comma either.

this method is not "fast food" - prep start to plate is about four hours. it's worth it - but you may want to reserve the attempt for a weekend / holiday when one can plan out the timeframe.

The recipe is a bit non-descript - the seasonings and other variations are nearly endless - it is presented here merely to illustrate the point.

basically you brown the roast - heavy
roast at 180 to 200'F (82-93'C)
[for a 3.5 lb (1.6 kg) chunk of roast, plan on 120-150 minutes]
pull from the oven at 130'F / 55'C internal temp and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes covered.

result is just slightly slight pinkish at the deepest points.
slice 3/8 inch aka 9 mm thick, no knife needed - the slices cut effortlessly by fork.

so - on to the details:

starting the meat sear:


when done, meat removed from pan, drain off excess fat,
toss in about a cup of bias sliced leeks to sweat down:


as the leeks wilt, add the mushroom, cremini in this case:


when all that has cooked down, 2 large garlic cloves, minced - adjust qty to your garlic preference


set the roast back on the bed of sauted leek/mushroom, add some fingerling potatoes, into the oven at 180'F:


roast pulled at 130'F, allowed to rest - here's the sliced version:


the fingerlings get removed from the pan and cut longways, then browned:


a medium dark roux, add the leek mushroom mix, thin/adjust gravy consistency with water, beer, wine, your choice.

[Jim Cooley]

Nice presentation of technique.

Also, nice cast-iron pan! I love how the handle is clean, but the rest is seasoned... lol

[Dilbert]

>>how the handle is clean, but the rest is seasoned....

it's an old Griswold - amazing light for its size - I can single handed pan flip my eggs over easy.

the handle methinks has been nickel plated - although everything looked "the same" after I sandblasted and cleaned it up, as soon as I started using it I noticed the handle stayed bright & shiny but the rest darkened / seasoned.

I've seen passing mention of nickel plated handles on the old stuff, never traced down any detail on it.

[Bill12345]

I'm throwing out a question here. Since most pork roasts are comprised of two pieces of meat tied together, are there any worries that the two internal surfaces may have picked up some surface contamination before being tied?
Cooking the two sections separately might be a better alternative than cooking the internal to a 'safe' 160F/70C.

[Dilbert]

"typically" the whole primal cut is tied before it is divided into "chunks" of one roast descriptor or another. the point being that the two muscles were not separated and handled separately....

at that point in the meat handling there's no more washing / dousing stuff that could "run down" between the muscle groups - so somebody would have to be sticking their fingers down between the muscles..... and past that, the fat cap, if unbroken, would serve as an umbrella . . .

could something get in? probably yes. do I worry about it? no.

historically the "big issue" with pork was trichinosis. before various regulations came to pass, and actually before the FDA/CDC kept records on trichinosis, the estimates are like 30%+ of the population was "infected" - that's a wow factor!

the recommended "safe" temp has been reduced from 160'F to 145'F, primarily as trichinosis from interstate pork trade has become all but unheard of today.

[Dilbert]

you need a 25 cm diameter fry pan, a burner top, and an oven.

I used a second pan to brown the potatoes after roasting, but you can use the same pan.

a thermometer is very helpful in judging when the roast is done -

btw, signature blocks are not displayed - cuts down on the spam.