The Bard of Back

First thing's first: let's clear up a misconception.  Pork loin roast and pork tenderloin are not the same cut.  Pork tenderloin is the psoas major muscle, the same muscle that yields the filet mignon from a cow.  Like that steak, the pork tenderloin trades fatty flavor for lean, tender meat.  That's why you often find pre-marinated tenderloins in your grocery butcher case for $4/lb.  But we're not here to talk about tenderloins, we're talking about loins...

The loin is a collection of muscles in the back which yield several cuts including pork chops, back ribs, top loin roast, sirloin roast and center roast (which can be turned into a crown roast by "Frenching" the bones).  The top loin and sirloin roasts are usually very lean and can be very flavorful, especially for a price nearly half that of the tenderloin.

The tenderloin, because it is so tender, is a somewhat forgiving cut of pork for the inexperienced cook, but  loin roasts have a tendency to dry out if cooked incorrectly.  There's nothing more embarrassing than serving a dried out, tough crown roast; believe me, I've suffered that misfortune.  Luckily, there are many tactics you can employ to help your loin roast keep its moisture and flavor.

First off, I highly recommend brining a pork loin roast.  Not only does this add flavor to the meat, but the salt breaks down muscle fibers to tenderize them while at the same time encourages the protein cells to retain water.  Brine is simple to make - about 3/4 cup of kosher salt per gallon of water - and you can add whatever flavoring agents you like to the salt solution.  For pork, I love brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.  The salt will carry those flavors into the deepest parts of the meat if given enough time.  Science!

Traditionally, this would be the perfect application for basting.  Now, I didn't go to culinary school so maybe I'm missing out on some trick, but I hate basting and I'm pretty sure that it doesn't actually work.  You pull the juices out and spritz the top of the roast, where they just run back down to the bottom of the pan.  Whatever's left gets put back into the hot oven where it evaporates and dries the meat out further.  Not to mention that opening and closing your oven over and over to baste affects the cooking temperature and time.  Someone give me one reason why basting works.  I dare you.

For fatty roast like shoulder, you can use the old "low and slow" technique in which fat collagen melts into gelatin and moistens the pork.  That's a long process though, and doesn't work well with lean loin cuts.  So what if there were a way to artificially marble the roast with fat?  Oh, that's called larding and it's ridiculously difficult even with the proper equipment.  There is another method of fat addition that basically bastes a roast automatically while it cooks.  It's called barding, but you probably know it better as bacon-wrapping.

Technically, you can bard with any kind of fat.  Fatback is the most traditional barding fat, but bacon is more readily available (unless you are on a first name basis with your butcher, which you probably should be if you're reading cooking blogs) and does an adequate job.  Plus, if you tell somebody that you wrapped it in bacon, they'll probably salivate.  If you tell them it's wrapped in fatback, they'll probably skip dinner and head to the gym.

So we're going to make a barded back roast (bacon-wrapped pork loin).  Start with a 4-5 pound roast and brine it in your fridge for a day or two.  Yeah, you need to plan ahead: you plan to fail when you fail to plan.  On the day you're going to cook, pull the roast out and let it sit at room temperature for a bit while you're warming up the oven to 450 and prepping the accoutrement.  If you've got a roasting rack for your pan, set it up, but if you don't you can make a natural rack by lining the bottom of the pan with carrots and onions.

Pork loin needs some help in the flavor department, so it's usually a good idea to coat the outside of it with herbs.  I used fresh rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.  Sage is nice with pork too.  If you've got a mortar and pestle, mash it all up into a paste and slather it on there.  If you don't, crush it with a spoon to release the essences from the fresh herbs before applying to the roast.

Now for the bard.  Apply enough bacon to cover the whole roast from end to end.  Overlap the slices a little bit since they'll shrink up in the oven.

You want the oven to be at 450 when the roast goes in because you want to hit the bacon hard so it'll get crispy and release its fat into the roast below.  However, you should only cook at 450 for about 15 minutes - 20 tops - until the bacon just starts to crisp up at the edges.  Any longer than that and you run the risk of drying out the loin: even with brining and barding you still can't abuse it with temperature.  Drop that heat to 350 and let it go until it reaches an internal temperature of 140, which should only take another 50-60 minutes.  It should look beautiful and you will want to tear right into it.

DON'T!!!  Let it rest on a cutting board for about 20 minutes.  The carryover cooking will bring it up to a safe temperature of 145 degrees (thanks USDA) and the resting will allow all the juices - remember how hard we worked to keep those? - to settle throughout the roast instead of spilling out.  While you're waiting, rescue the carrots and onions from the bottom of the roasting pan.  Maybe chop up some red potatoes and roast those in the oven.  Just don't cut the meat until it's done resting.  Your patience will be greatly rewarded.