Roasted Pork Loin with Thyme & Pancetta Fat

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The previous post described the veggies which are at the base of this roasting pan. Onto the rack, I added two hefty pork loins, covered them in sprigs of fresh thyme, seasoned them with salt and pepper and covered them with more bits of fatty prosciutto slices. Everything certainly looked brilliant at this point. After these photos, I removed the potatoes and veggies and roasted the pork for about 30 minutes before adding back the veggies to finish off cooking. All was progressing well in the Viking oven…

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…until the electricity went out, then again, and again and 6 darned times during the course of the next hour. That’s what happens in Batangas on busy holiday weekends and the demand for electricity surges beyond the local generating capacity. Because the oven has electric starters, I had to turn it off every time the lights went out and this certainly wreaked havoc on the roast. Finally, with dinner running 30 minutes late, I pulled out one pork loin and let it rest for a few minutes and sliced into it, dismayed to discover it was still a little too pink. In order to get dinner on the table, I grilled each slice for a minute or two on each side and served them on a large platter over the potatoes and veggies…

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The second loin was returned to the oven for a further 12 minutes and it came out perfect despite the electrical issues, very juicy and succulent. Overall we were very pleased with the results. And the fat from the prosciutto kept the loin quite moist and the flavor and saltiness was a huge plus for this dish. Crisped up pieces of prosciutto were served with every slice of pork. This is a dish I would definitely make again. :)

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19 Responses

  1. the photos look great. i’m sure it tastes fabulous. great great photos. you’re a great food stylist. everything looks like in a glossy foodie magazine ;)

  2. just to be clear, did you use prosciutto fat or pancetta fat or both?

    either way, yumm! Something I won’t be able to partake in having recently diagnosed with hypertension :(

  3. I would have died in exasperation losing power not once but SIX times in the middle of dinner preparation!@#$%^ I can just imagine the wonderful smell wafting through the room.

  4. I am surprised you didn’t throw it on the Weber grill at that point…I’ve done roasts on it and it works well. Just have to keep the charcoal replenished to maintain heat.

  5. OMG that just made me so hungry!

    Speaking of heat sources, I personally like gas cooktops and electric ovens. Seems to me that electric ovens are better at holding the programmed temperature constant. Or maybe I’ve never tried to cook in a really good gas oven. haha

  6. fried neurons, I have a bias (justified or not) for gas ovens as I believe they have a drier heat but can’t really explain why. Maybe it’s just the caveman hough of flames that causes the bias. But then again, I could be dead wrong. But if we had a fully electric oven, we wouldn’t have had dinner that night… Mlee, we almost did, but the electricity kept returning after a few minutes… Doddie, not sure which is more costly, but I would believe that electricity might cost more. Our oven has electric STARTERS only which means the trigger to “open” the gas flow is electronic, so even though it is a gas oven, it needs electricity to operate it properly. Jun, it is gas, just needs electrical starters… one of the first world features that doesn’t do well in blackout prone locations. siopao, prosciutto fat that I had leftover from slicing into a new leg of prosciutto. connie C, thanks for the link. diedregurl, thanks, that’s very flattering… :)

  7. I’ve just seen a version of tablescapes @ AFC where they put a whole chicken in a skewer then put it standing into a sand cover with an empty big cooking oil can. Then they cover the whole can with a dried rice stalks then set in on fire. After 5 mins remove the fire and the can. Then it shows a well done roasted chicken. Imagine 5 mins this is really amazing… The marinate is so simple onion, garlic, black pepper, vinegar and soy sauce. Then they put everything inside the chicken cavity. I will do this if I find dried grass here in singapore…. MM You should do this the next time you go to the beach.

  8. jun b, 5 minutes? really. Wow. I think it takes longer than that in a microwave! I haven’t seen the episode, but it certainly sounds intriguing. I guess the heat is so intense, say 700F+ but the slow cook time is still unusual.

  9. Take a Weber to Batangas . .I guarantee you wont regret it. I rarely bake/roast in the oven now. Use indirect heat. Some Webers have a useful temperature gauge, which , though not accurate, give you a workable clue on controlling the fire.
    I often add fragrant leaves – euycalyptus, olive, or pieces of of soaked hickory. There is also a cast iron device to put wood pieces, or wine amongst the roasting potatoes to infuse flavours better. Sometimes I prefer to use a kamado, but the Weber is so easy to use ( I have about 6).

  10. I note MLee’s comment on replenishing charcoal. I use a mixture of briquettes and wood charcoal – the briquettes last for weveral hours. I also found that converting some large pieces of wood to charcoal in advance means you never need to replenish,so I keep a stock of charcoal wood logs under the Weber. When I fire up the charcoal in the cylindircal fire tube starter, I put in a lump of large wood at the top for some partial burning, and this is burned further each time the fire is started. For Easter the Weber cooked some salmon steaks marinated in olive oil thyme and lemon juice, as well as several inasal na manok.

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