Need a delicious meal idea? Make this ROASTED PORK LOIN RECIPE WITH GREMOLATA.

The goal here was to satisfy a craving I was having for roast pork. Figuring I could create something that was both delicious and easy to make, I got to right to work. In my mind, I figured we could start with a good-sized piece of pork, something to feed a crowd. Pork tenderloin is too small if you’re serving family and friends. With a pork loin in mind, all I’d need to do is add seasoning, maybe an additional layer of flavour, roast, slice and enjoy. But then, you know me, once we got to testing, this recipe for roast pork loin went from simple to amazing. Let me be the first to say that our ROASTED PORK LOIN RECIPE WITH GREMOLATA is the best you’ll ever make.

Here’s a little preview of what’s to come, complete with a plot-twist!

1. We’re going to butterfly a 4 pound piece of pork loin.
2. We’ll then add two hits of flavour by seasoning the meat and also working in a fresh-flavoured gremolata.
3. A VIDEO crafted for this post will showcase a quick and easy method to truss a piece of pork.
4. We’ll sear the meat in a skillet and then cook it perfectly tender and juicy in the oven.
5. And to finish, we’ll slice it to show why it’s a great weeknight meal idea, plus we’ll share a must-make sandwich idea.

Here’s a fabulous PORK LOIN RECIPE WITH GREMOLATA:

Please note, a bit of a switch on this post: the various tips appear in the order they appear in the instructions.  

WHAT’S GREMOLATA?

Well, we’re glad you asked. To begin, a clarification that GREMOLATA is also called GREMOLADA. It’s a very flavourful green sauce made with fresh parsley, lemon zest and garlic. Traditionally, gremolata is spooned onto cooked meats and fish as a flavour enhancement. The most famous use is to sprinkle it on osso bucco, a tender, juicy veal shank slow-cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Having just written that, I’ve added osso bucco to our recipe testing list, so stay tuned. For this recipe though, I took a bit of creative license and added a drizzle of olive oil into the bowl to give the sauce more cohesiveness. In this recipe it’ll act more like a stuffing within the butterflied pork loin. That oil helps it adhere to the meat.

Although you may be tempted to make gremolata in a food processor, we think preparing it old-school, by hand, is the way to go. Make sure to rinse the parsley before you begin, then get ready to chop. You can use flat-leaf parsley or curly parsley. Pluck the leaves from the stems then chop the leaves finely, transferring them to a medium bowl. For the lemons, we need zest only, so rinse them and then use a fine grater or microplane to remove that fragrant, citrusy zest. Since we’ve already dirtied up the grater, use it for the garlic too; your goal here is very fine hints of garlic throughout.

Once the chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest are all in the small bowl, here’s where I add the oil and then stir everything together. During the testing of this recipe, we discovered the aroma of this green sauce to be very appetizing. Let’s say you don’t use all of it when preparing the pork loin. Simply store the leftover amount in an airtight container and refrigerate. Because these ingredients are fresh, please use it up within 3 to 4 days to maximize the flavours. Another option: keep reading to find out!

GREMOLATA MAYONNAISE

When you watching the VIDEO crafted for this post, you’ll hear the full storyline of my lightbulb moment in this recipe: a sandwich! It was while crafting the gremolata that I thought, “Geez, we should snag some into a bowl, add a squeeze of a favourite mayonnaise and craft the best sandwich topper ever!” That’s exactly what ended up happening and let me just say, is it ever good. Adding an enhanced mayonnaise to any sandwich is always a great idea, and this one doesn’t disappoint. By seasoning it with the same mix that we used on the meat, it accentuates the flavour of the roasted pork. Let’s say you’d rather a different profile, try making a flavoured mayonnaise using Dijon mustard, horseradish, pickles, relish, prepared mustard or BBQ SAUCE.

WHAT’S THE BEST SPICE RUB FOR PORK LOIN?

Here’s another great question in need of a tasty answer. In a perfect world, you’ll have one of our famous spice blends on hand. We’ve made this recipe using both our BUTCHER’S BLEND (tomato, citrus, oregano) and our POULTRY & PORK RUB (paprika, onion powder, thyme). They each added wonderful flavours to the roast. If you’d liked to order them, click HERE. 

Let’s say you’re ready to make the recipe now and can’t wait for your spice order to arrive. Don’t worry, we’ve included an alternate option. Craft the ingredient seasoning mix detailed down below using kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder, and all will still be tasty. Stir the mix together and use it to season the inside of the butterflied pork loin and the exterior after you’ve trussed it. Easy!

INGREDIENTS

Finally, the full ingredient photo shows you everything you need to make this delicious recipe. So basically, a beautiful cut of pork, seasoning, the gremolata and some olive oil. Oh, and a very important element; butcher’s string. For best results we suggest using a 100% cotton string. If you don’t already have some in the kitchen, look for it at your local grocer’s. Hardware stores and speciality kitchen stores will also have it. It’s an essential tool for securing meats and poultry.

PORK LOIN

Although we created this story and recipe using a four-pound pork loin, a smaller cut will work perfectly too. Pork loin is a cut of meat from the back of the pig, between the shoulder and the beginning of the leg. It can be purchased bone-in or as a boneless pork loin roast like the one we used. If you’d rather prepare something similar with the bones still intact, try our beautiful CROWN ROAST OF PORK. Using the boneless version keeps the process for this recipe simple. The only advance step is to run a sharp knife through the middle of the loin horizontally, leaving about an inch of meat uncut. Once the cut is made, you can lift the top of the loin to open it up. This simple step is called butterflying a cut.

SEASONING THE PORK LOIN

After butterflying the loin, we follow by sprinkling the opened loin with about half the quantity of seasoning, about a tablespoon worth. Then add the gremolata, spreading it across the meat in an even layer. Close the loin back up and truss. You will have some seasoning remaining, but just keep it to the side for a moment. Once the pork loin is trussed, we’ll be sprinkling that on the outside of the roast.

TRUSSING A PORK LOIN

Trussing a pork loin, or any piece of meat, is quite easy to do. If you’ve never done this before, just go slow; you’ll quickly realize it’s easier than it looks. Start by sliding one end of the string under the end of the loin closest to you and tie a square knot. Start making loops around the loin, running the string under and over the loin at intervals of about two inches. As you create loops, pull them tight to ensure they’re snug around the loin.

Continue looping and tightening the string until you reach the end of the loin. Tie off the string with a final knot, leaving a tail long enough to cut off after the loin is cooked. You know how sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words?

This VIDEO is even better than that! Don’t forget, once the pork is trussed, sprinkle the outside and ends with the remaining seasoning.

SKILLET SEAR

We decided to cook this PORK LOIN RECIPE WITH GREMOLATA in two steps. The first is to sear the outside of the loin in a hot skillet on stovetop. This will brown the exterior of the roast, which further contributes to a juicy pork loin. We suggest using a large skillet warmed on moderate to medium-high heat. Once the skillet comes to temperature, add a drizzle of oil and then cook the loin turning it every two minutes so that the outside browns to a rich golden colour.

OVEN ROAST

The second step to cooking this pork roast is to transfer it to the oven where we’ll then oven-roast the meat to perfection. For best results, preheat the oven to 325°F. A good rule of thumb for roasting pork loin is to allow approximately 20 minutes per pound, but with the advance sear, we reduced that to 15 minutes. Our roast was perfectly prepared in just under an hour, plus the 8 minutes of searing.

Of course, the best way to know if your pork roast is properly cooked is to use a meat thermometer. I removed the roast from the oven when the thermometer was just cresting 60°C or 140°F, juices were clear. But wait, keep reading.

REST PERIOD

Some of you reading this may remember us recommending a rest period for cooked meats. We’ve used this technique for our famous GRILLED BEEF TENDERLOIN or this incredible recipe for RACK OF LAMB. A rest period often involves covering the cooked meat with foil, leaving it to rest for a number of minutes. For this pork loin, we’re recommending you leave the pork to rest for 15 minutes.

This method allows the meat to cook a bit longer with the heat retained within. By the time you’re ready to enjoy, the pork loin will read 63°C or 145°F on an instant read thermometer. This internal temperature yields a tender, juicy cut every time.

SLICE AND SERVE

Once the meat has rested, it’s time to carve or slice. Before cutting portions, we suggest first removing and discarding the butcher’s string. You can cut through the various loops of string, then simply pull it away. If you’re planning to serve this roast for a weeknight dinner, or weekend dinner party, slice to about a ½-inch thickness.

After that, present with a few tasty sides like these EASY GREEN BEANS, our MASHED SWEET POTATOES or SPANISH RICE. This crunchy BEST BROCCOLI SALAD and our MEDITERRANEAN CAULIFLOWER salad work too. Another option: how about a sandwich?

HOW TO MAKE A GOURMET PORK SANDWICH

Making a really delicious sandwich with this pork loin roast recipe is so easy. Just make sure you have the following at the ready: the roasted pork loin, this recipe for RUTABAGA SLAW, the flavourful GREMOLATA MAYONNAISE and then a warmed French loaf or crusty baguette. Simply cut the loaf in half horizontally. Add scoops of the slaw to the bottom half, followed by thin slices of the pork loin. Because I like juicy sammies, I also dabbed the slices with pan drippings. Last step is to smear the mayo on the top half of the loaf and place it on top. The sandwich itself is a bit unwieldy, so we cut ours into 2-inch chunks; I stuck some funky sandwich picks in there to keep everything in place.

True confession! Towards the end of shooting day for this post, I couldn’t wait to try it. I snuck a little slice of the pork loin while we were shooting, and my response was, “Yum, so good!”. Then we continued and made the sandwich and when all the photography was done, I got my chance. I had my phone in hand within seconds of tasting it, texting friends and family, “One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever made in my life!” Now that’s saying something!

This roasted pork loin recipe is so easy and delicious, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite main course, dinner or sandwich board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!

Enjoy this ROASTED PORK LOIN RECIPE WITH GREMOLATA sliced or sandwiched. It’s ALL good!

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• Garlic
• Garlic Powder
• Gremolata
• Kosher Salt
• Lemon Zest
• Mayonnaise
• Olive Oil
• Rutabaga Slaw
• WATC Butcher's Blend Spice Mix
• WATC Poultry & Pork Rub

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