Roast Pork loin
We were never big fans of pork since it is a meat which goes dry easily (best use is bacon or ham for sandwiches!). However the loin is a cut which remains tender and juicy and produces slightly fancy dish without breaking the bank.
Here we served a roast loin of pork with our favourite mustard mash and topped with a delicious port sauce. The pork is marinated in ginger, garlic and a hint of Chinese 5 spice. The mash is creamy with the kick of the mustard and the sauce adds a fruity hint which goes so well with pork. We have actually made this same recipe before but also added a hint of pomegranate molasses to the sauce.
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Ingredients
Marinade
- Tender pork loin
- 1 tsp pureed garlic
- 1 tab ginger puree
- 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- Salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce
- 1/2 glass port
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp light Demi glacé or rich beef stock
- 1 tsp butter
Other
- Lemon thyme
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup port
Method
Marinade the pork
- Sprinkle the loin generously with black pepper, a little salt and the Chinese 5 spice
- Then rub over the ginger and garlic and olive oil
- Allow to marinade in the fridge for an hour (ideally a few hours)
Cook the pork
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C
- Heat a frying pan till hot and add the loin
- Sear quickly on all sides until brown (this seals in the juices), keep the pan aside
- Place the pork in an oven dish, add the lemon thyme
- Mix the port and chicken stock together and pour over the pork (this should just be enough liquid to cover 5mm of the bottom of the dish)
- Add shallots to the oven dish which caramelise during cooking
- Place in the middle shelf of the oven for 10 minutes
- Move on to the next step- making the sauce
- After 10 minutes flip the loin over and baste with some of the sauce
Make the sauce
- Put the pan you seared the pork in back over a medium heat
- Deglaze the pan with the port
- Flambé and allow to reduce for 2 minutes
- Add the chicken and beef stock and stir well
- Taste for seasoning (the flavour will largely be influenced by the quality of the stock)
- Allow to reduce but if the sauce gets too thick add some water
- At this stage the pork should have had 20 minutes and should be cooked
- Always check your food is cooked properly
- Set aside for 5 minutes
- Finish the sauce by pouring any cooking juices from the pork into the sauce
- If the sauce has “bits” then strain it before returning to the pan
- Add the butter and stir to achieve a silky sauce
- Cut the pork into medallions and serve pouring over the sauce