This is from 2007. A kitchen experiment I did one afternoon while my husband was at work and our girls were in school. I published the recipe almost as soon as the pork loin had been sliced and plated.
Then, several months ago, in a bid to take new photos of all the recipes in my old blog, I unpublished the recipe for this dish. I told myself I’d make it again, take better photos and republish.
But we hardly ever use dried herbs these days because we grow them in the garden. I could substitute fresh for dried but that would entail modifying the recipe. And I wondered if it would be worth it. The old rolled pork loin recipe was just perfect… why mess with perfection, right?
So, I’m reposting the recipe with the old photos accompanied by the same caveats that went with them back in 2007.
Since this was a kitchen experiment, I served it without sauce or dressing. Maybe I will next time. Or maybe not. The rolled porkloin was so tender and moist and exploding with flavors and I have half a mind to say that a sauce or a gravy will just ruin it. If you feel that a sauce is essential, I suggest that you keep it light. Mayo with crushed cucumber is an option.
Rolled pork loin with bacon, basil and rosemary
Ingredients
- 1 slab pork loin - with fat on the surface, about 700 grams
- salt
- 200 grams smoked belly bacon - diced
- 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried basil
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried rosemary - softened in one tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Lay the pork in a wide container.
- Take about two teaspoonfuls of (refined) salt or two tablespoonfuls of rock salt and spread on both sides of the meat, rubbing the salt in.
- Cover the container tightly and let sit in the fridge for about 6 hours.
- Take the meat from the fridge and rinse off the salt under the tap.
- Pat the meat dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
- Lay it flat, fat side down, and spread the bacon over the entire surface.
- Sprinkle the onion, basil and rosemary evenly over the bacon. Season with lots of freshly ground pepper.
- Roll up tightly and wrap in aluminum foil, tucking in the edges. No, you don’t need to string the meat.
- Bake in a preheated 170C oven for 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about an hour without removing the wrapping. If you slice the meat while still hot, it will crumble. So, let it cool for a while.
- After the meat has cooled, peel off the foil and cut the rolled porkloin into half-inch slices.
