Hi Alan - this is the Best EVER pork roast! The fennel flavors are not at all overwhelming, but meld beautifully with the pork.
- 3 lb bone-in heritage (i.e. serious fat cap) pork loin w/skin on. It’s hard to find a roast with a big fat cap, but the effort is worth it!
- 4 or 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
- handful of fennel fronds, finely chopped
- leaves of one sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- fennel pollen*
- fennel seed*
- fennel powder*
- 1 T white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1-2T extra virgin olive oil
- pinch red pepper flakes
- white wine
- we end up using about 1T each time, but mostly it depends on the size of your roast
DAY BEFORE:
Put fennel seed, pollen, and pepper flakes in spice grinder and mill to powder. Combine with chopped rosemary, garlic, fennel fronds, olive oil, fennel powder, vinegar, S&P. Stir well to combine. (Some honey is also very good in this mix, though we don’t always use it)
Cut a cross hatch in the skin, being careful not to cut too far into the fat. Then cut a pocket into fat cap, being careful not to cut into the cross cuts (there should be fat separating the two). Cut deep slits into the flesh of the meat. Season the pork loin with S&P and rub most of the herb/spice mixture all over it, deep into the slits, and into the pocket in the fat, but NOT on top of the skin. Save the small amount of remaining rub.
Set aside prepared pork and allow to sit in the fridge overnight.
DAY OF:
Pre-heat oven to 400F
Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan, uncovered, and pour some white wine (1/2 bottle maybe?) into the pan. Then put roasting pan into the pre-heated oven with convection on. IMMEDIATELY drop the temperature to 350F. Let it roast for about 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the size. If your pork had only a small fat cap, skip the next step.
OPTIONAL IF THERE IS A SERIOUS FAT CAP, WHICH IS IDEAL, BUT HARD TO FIND. OMIT THIS STEP IF YOU WEREN’T ABLE TO GET SUCH A BEAST: About halfway through the cook time, remove from oven and remove the top layer of skin and small layer of adhering fat and set aside (this is the reason you wanted to keep the fat pocket away from the skin). It will still be soft at this point. Place skin on an oven tray. Apply any remaining rub to the top of the exposed fat and put back in oven, inserting an oven probe. Place tray with skin in the oven as well.
FOR LESS FAT ROASTS: Check on the skin (if you didn’t remove it) a few times during the cook. By the time you are done, it should be nice and firm when you knock on it. If it isn’t crisped up by the end, you can do a few minutes under the broiler, watching carefully. When probe reads 135F, remove from oven and place the roast on a plate, being sure to catch all drippings, and rest for at least 15 minutes. [If you did the skin removal step, check the fat cap when you are ready to remove from oven. If it doesn’t seem activated, but it under the broiler a few minutes.] Deglaze the roasting pan while the meat rests, adding some more white wine if needed, scraping up any bits. Add any drippings on the resting plate and reduce to a nice glaze.
If you removed the skin in the optional step, keep it warm in the oven. If it wasn’t fully crisped up, you can give it some more cook time, otherwise just keep in a warm oven. To serve, carve chunks or slices of the roast alongside a few squares of the crisped skin (it’s in squares due to the crosshatching), and garnish the whole thing with chopped fennel fronds and some of the glaze.
Let me know if you have any questions.
