This handsome roast elicited oohs and aahs in the test kitchen when Ruggiero pulled it out of the oven, and the succulent meat disappeared in a flurry of forks. The rosemary, thyme, sage, and savory sprigs on which the pork loin roasts infuse the meat and mingle with its mustard and shallot cloak. The luscious sauce is argument enough for keeping a bottle of dry vermouth on hand.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 1/2 hr
Yield
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
For pork:
For sauce:
Preparation
Roast pork:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Step 2
Pat pork dry and season with 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Straddle a flameproof roasting pan over 2 burners, then heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown pork on all sides, then transfer to a large plate.
Step 3
Put a metal rack in pan and arrange half of herbs down middle of rack. Stir together shallots, garlic, mustard, and 1 tablespoon oil and smear over top and sides of roast, then put roast, fat side up, on top of herbs. Roast 1 hour. Toss remaining herbs with remaining teaspoon oil and arrange on top of roast.
Step 4
Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 to 145°F, 5 to 15 minutes more (temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees as it rests). Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 25 minutes.
Make sauce while pork rests:
Step 5
Remove rack from pan and discard herbs from rack. Straddle pan across 2 burners on medium heat. Add vermouth and mustard and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half. Add broth and simmer 3 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-cup measure. If you have more than 1 1/2 cups, boil to reduce; if less, add water.
Step 6
Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, until pale golden, about 3 minutes. Whisk in vermouth mixture and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
Step 7
Serve pork with sauce.
What to drink:
Step 8
Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard '06
