Garlic Studded Roast Pork Loin
By America's Test KitchenPublished on March 18, 2011
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours chilling and 30 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried thyme ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or ground allspice)2 teaspoons table salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers2.25 pounds boneless pork loin roast, center cut, fat trimmed to about ⅛-inch thick; roast tied with kitchen twine in tight cylinder and dried with paper towels
Before You Begin
A thin, flat pork loin roast will overcook. To avoid this overcooking, tie the roast yourself, or have the butcher perform the task for you.
Instructions
- Mix thyme, cloves or allspice, salt, and pepper. Coat garlic slivers in spice mixture. Poke slits in roast with point of paring knife; insert garlic slivers. Rub remaining spice mixture onto meat. Wrap roast in foil; refrigerate 2 to 24 hours (can be refrigerated up to three days).
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat to 475 degrees. Take meat directly from refrigerator, remove foil, and place on cake rack set in shallow roasting pan. Roast exactly 30 minutes.
- Remove meat from oven; immediately reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Insert instant-read meat thermometer at one end of roast, going into thickest part of the center (temperature will range from 80 to 110 degrees); let roast rest at room temperature, uncovered, for exactly 30 minutes. (At this point roast’s internal temperature will range from 115 to 140 degrees.) After this 30-minute rest, remove meat thermometer, return meat to oven, and roast until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of roast reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, 15 to 30 minutes longer, depending on roast’s internal temperature at end of resting period. Since roast may cook unevenly, take temperature readings from a couple of locations, each time plunging thermometer to center of meat and waiting 15 seconds.
- Let roast stand at room temperature, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes to finish cooking. (The temperature should register between 150 and 155 degrees.) Slice meat thin and serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours chilling and 30 minutes restingYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or ground allspice)
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
2.25 pounds boneless pork loin roast, center cut, fat trimmed to about ⅛-inch thick; roast tied with kitchen twine in tight cylinder and dried with paper towels
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or ground allspice)
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
2.25 pounds boneless pork loin roast, center cut, fat trimmed to about ⅛-inch thick; roast tied with kitchen twine in tight cylinder and dried with paper towels
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or ground allspice)
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
2.25 pounds boneless pork loin roast, center cut, fat trimmed to about ⅛-inch thick; roast tied with kitchen twine in tight cylinder and dried with paper towels
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Surprisingly, we found that the ideal method for our roast pork loin recipe involved allowing the roast to rest on the counter between sessions in the oven. By doing so, the middle of the roast gently heated by means of conduction—that is, the heat absorbed by the outside of the roast penetrated the interior portions as it rested. A return to the oven at a lower temperature finished fully cooking the roast through the center without overcooking the exterior portion in our pork loin recipe. The result was tender texture and the least juice loss.
Before You Begin
A thin, flat pork loin roast will overcook. To avoid this overcooking, tie the roast yourself, or have the butcher perform the task for you.
Instructions
- Mix thyme, cloves or allspice, salt, and pepper. Coat garlic slivers in spice mixture. Poke slits in roast with point of paring knife; insert garlic slivers. Rub remaining spice mixture onto meat. Wrap roast in foil; refrigerate 2 to 24 hours (can be refrigerated up to three days).
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat to 475 degrees. Take meat directly from refrigerator, remove foil, and place on cake rack set in shallow roasting pan. Roast exactly 30 minutes.
- Remove meat from oven; immediately reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Insert instant-read meat thermometer at one end of roast, going into thickest part of the center (temperature will range from 80 to 110 degrees); let roast rest at room temperature, uncovered, for exactly 30 minutes. (At this point roast’s internal temperature will range from 115 to 140 degrees.) After this 30-minute rest, remove meat thermometer, return meat to oven, and roast until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of roast reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, 15 to 30 minutes longer, depending on roast’s internal temperature at end of resting period. Since roast may cook unevenly, take temperature readings from a couple of locations, each time plunging thermometer to center of meat and waiting 15 seconds.
- Let roast stand at room temperature, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes to finish cooking. (The temperature should register between 150 and 155 degrees.) Slice meat thin and serve.
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