Pork Loin Roast with Garlic and Rosemary

Pork loins are one of the most economical cuts of meat you can purchase. This recipe only takes about an hour in the oven, and it will fill your house with the most amazing garlic and rosemary aroma thanks to the flavorful paste that blankets the roast.

To make the flavorful paste, you’ll need: kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic paste, olive oil, and dried rosemary.

Grind the dried rosemary in a coffee/spice grinder. If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can pulse the rosemary in a personal beverage blender (like this), or grind it by hand using a mortar and pestle.

One note about coffee/spice grinders - I like to use one that has a removable insert (here’s the one I have) so it can be washed thoroughly.

Place the olive oil, ground rosemary, garlic paste, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Whisk them all together to form a paste.

Spread the paste all over the top of the roast and place the roast on a rack inside a baking dish. Be sure to use a pork loin roast and not a pork tenderloin roast as the cooking time for this recipe was developed for a 3-pound loin roast.

Add 1 cup of water to the baking dish. If you have a probe thermometer (like this), insert it into the side of the roast and bake until an internal temperature of 145F is reached. Remove roast from oven and rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• coffee/spice grinder https://amzn.to/2T6oRE3

• garlic paste https://amzn.to/37Sza3P

• dried rosemary https://amzn.to/393dQK8

• beverage whisk https://amzn.to/3bUw4Q9

• baking dish https://amzn.to/2vVR1tu

• internal probe thermometer https://amzn.to/2v7ChHP

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Pork Loin Roast with Garlic and Rosemary

makes 8 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 pound boneless pork loin (not tenderloin)

Seasoning Paste:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon garlic paste

• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, ground

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or half table salt)

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place rack in center position.

2. Using a mortar and pestle, mini food processor, drink blender, or spice grinder that is dishwasher safe (for easy cleaning afterward), grind rosemary.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together ground rosemary, olive oil, garlic paste, salt, and pepper, until a paste forms.

4. Place the pork loin on a rack sitting in a baking dish and rub all over with garlic/rosemary paste.

5. Insert an over-safe probe thermometer into the end of the loin until the tip of the probe reaches the center; pour 1 cup water into the pan (avoid pouring the water over the seasoning paste).

6. Carefully place the baking dish in the center of the preheated oven and roast for approximately 1 hour (or until an internal temperature of 145F is reached).

7. Remove pork loin from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Mission Chili

A few times year, we get together with a group of friends to provide a chili dinner for one of the local charities. We serve 3 different batches of chili, and mine is typically the spiciest (for the record, I don’t think it’s that spicy, and you can easily adjust to the heat level you like).

I don’t usually follow a recipe when I make chili - I add this and that until I get it just the way I like it. If time permits (and I’m in the mood to chop), I’ll use fresh onions and garlic. Today my attention was divided among several kitchen tasks so I opted to use dried minced onions and garlic. Sometimes I cook the beans from dried - today I used canned kidney beans, but other varieties like black, pinto, navy, cannellini, great northern, etc work equally well. Basically, I keep the meat, bean, and tomato ratio the same and the rest is pretty flexible. Anyway, I was quite pleased with today’s batch so I wrote down the exact measurements for you. Check out the notes listed below the recipe to see my suggested substitutions.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• heavy bottom 12qt stock pot https://amzn.to/3TZZGRz

• masa harina https://amzn.to/3zFr3IN

• chipotles in adobo https://amzn.to/39NdUOa

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Big Batch Mission Chili

makes about 12 quarts (48 cups)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 pounds 85% lean ground beef (or turkey)

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 3 green bell peppers, diced

• 4 tablespoons minced dried onions (see notes below)

• 4 tablespoons ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

• 2 tablespoons dried chili powder

• 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

• 1 tablespoon minced dried garlic (see notes below)

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 4 cans (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes (see notes below)

• 3 cans (45 ounces) dark red kidney beans with their liquid (see notes below)

• 1 can (7 ounces) chipotles in adobo, finely chopped

• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles

• 1 cup Masa Harina (see notes below)

• 1 cup water

Directions

1. In 12-quart or larger, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-high heat, combine oil, beef, salt, pepper, and onions and garlic (if using fresh); cook, stirring frequently, until crumbled and no pink remains.

2. Add bell peppers and all the dried herbs and spiced; cook for several minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add the canned tomatoes, beans (with their liquid), chipotles in adobo, and green chiles; stir well and bring to a boil, stirring every 5-10 minutes to keep the bottom of the pot from burning.

4. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour (don’t forgot to continue scraping the bottom of the pan every 5-10 minutes).

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together masa harina and water until no lumps remain; stir well into chili.

6. Serve with assorted garnish - fresh lime wedges, fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, Mexican crema or sour cream, chopped scallions, diced avocado, sliced jalapeño, tortilla strips, etc.

Notes

• Masa Harina (aka Masa de Harina or Maseca) is a finely ground corn flour or cornmeal made from dried hominy, which is corn that has been soaked in an alkaline solution. Masa Harina is what gives corn tortillas and tamales their distinctive flavor. Adding masa harina to chili is optional, and I made chili without it for years, but ever since I discovered how much flavor and texture it adds, I can’t go back.

• Use good quality, low-acid canned tomatoes - some brands I like are SMT, Cento, Contadina, Muir Glen, Pomi.

• To substitute dried beans (any kind is fine), cook 3 pounds (save some of the cooking water just in case you need to thin the chili a bit).

• To substitute fresh onions and garlic, mince 2 large yellow onions and 4 cloves of garlic (add while browning ground beef).

• For less spicy chili, reduce or omit the canned chipotle peppers in adobo (or substitute chipotle powder or chipotle flavored tabasco sauce to taste).

• Feel free to omit the bell peppers, or go ahead and add some chopped tomatoes, or use a different kind of bean (or a mix of beans), or toss in some corn or hominy kernels…. go for it!

• If using canned beans, no need to drain them (however, I do drain the liquid when using canned black beans because it can really affect the overall appearance of the finished chili).