Pork Loin

Panko Crusted Mustard Pork Loin with Buttered Noodles, White wine cream mustard sauce and steamed broccoli.

Heck of a title for a quickie mid week meal!

I found pork loins (2) in the freezer.  I have 2 freezers and buy things on sale then shove them in the back and forget about them.  With the cost of gas, I'm on a mission to eat the things I've already bought!  I'm playing freezer roulette.  Whatever I reach in and grab, that's what's for dinner.  I grabbed the double pork loin package, thawed it and cooked us up one heck of a Monday night dinner.  It's a company and family pleaser but it's crazy easy.

Here we go:

Tracy's Panko Pork Loin

2 pork loins
olive oil
dijon mustard
panko (or any kind) breadcrumbs
angel hair pasta
garlic clove
heavy cream
chicken stock or water
salt, pepper and thyme
frozen broccoli

Throw half the bag of broccoli in a deep bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Nuke it for 2 minutes, leave it in the microwave to reheat when you're ready to eat.

Boil a giant pot of water with lots of salt and one garlic clove.

Dry the pork loins well and remove any silver skin with a thin knife, don't take too much meat if you can avoid it.  Fry them in hot olive oil until brown on all sides.  Oh and in case you're counting, a round loin has four sides!  Brown it all the way around.
   
When they are all brown, transfer them to a board and let them sit for a moment, I dry them with paper towel so the mustard sticks easier.  Brush the loins with dijon mustard then roll them in a light coating of Panko bread crumbs, or regular bread crumbs, whatever you have.
   
After they are coated in bread crumbs, transfer them to a rack over a sheet and roast them in a 450 oven for 20 minutes.  Check for doneness.  I didn't take their temperature but if you have a thermometer, roast them to 140 max, they will continue to cook.  I roast them until they feel firm but slightly squishy.
 
While they roast, toss some mustard into the fry pan, whisk it around with some chicken stock (or water) and some cream.  Salt and pepper the sauce and let it boil hard.  Taste often and add a sprig of thyme, it really adds to the sauce. When the pork comes out of the oven, cover it with foil and boil your noodles.  If you use angel hair pasta, it'll take 4 minutes.
   

Save a cup of the pasta cooking water to add to the sauce if it gets too thick.  When the pasta is cooked, toss it in the sauce and serve a hearty portion.  I cut my angel hair into quarters so it's short straws of pasta.  It's not heavily sauced but the sauce is so delicious it only needs a little bit.

Don't forget the broccoli, microwave it for 30 seconds to warm it up without over cooking it and serve it up beside the pasta.

After the pork has rested, slice it.  Look how juicy it stays and how crispy the crust is and how there's a tinge of pink throughout.  This is very easy and very, very, good.  Connor squealed with delight when I presented it to him and dove into his dinner hungrily.  I think husband might have liked it because he went back for seconds but didn't actually say anything.  I should be used to it.  I thought it was delicious, flavorful, satisfying and light at the same time.

There's not a lot of describing needed here, enjoy the beauty shots.

       

Make it, you can get this dinner on the table in an hour or less.  Good food takes a few extra minutes sometimes but trust me, it's so worth it!

/enjoy

Peameal bacon, in Texas - I did it!

This is a peameal bacon, a whole one, what the Americans call "Canadian bacon". I will not even enter into a discussion with any of my American, or specifically, Texan friends as to the identification of "Canadian bacon". Bless them but they've been led astray by culinary myth and no one bothered to set them straight...well, until today.

Reputable restaurants and specialty stores in the United States insist on presenting a round, boiled?, ham as the quintessential "Canadian bacon". Seriously people? Have you never BEEN to Canada and eaten bacon there? REALLY?

I feel obligated to do the quote thing because in Canada, it's just bacon or it's peameal. So named because historically it was rolled in yellow split pea meal to preserve, keep, the meat.

This is not going to be a long post, but rather a celebratory post. I have lived in Austin, Texas for 11 years and for exactly 11 years I have been trying to obtain a decent peameal. Oh, scratch that, decent peameal implies there have been choices. I've been in search of ANY peameal. Without success of any kind.

I used to be able to visit my remaining family members in Canada and upon pulling out of the driveway to drive back to Texas I'd be sure there was my son in the back seat and pounds of peameal in the cooler. They vacuum pack them there frequently, whole, and I drive them back here and pop them into the freezer - guarding them like a mad dog - there are very few occasions that warrant the use of a transplanted peameal. I slice them, I roast them whole I count count count to be sure of how many I have left at any given time and at 2, the grip tightens upon my beloved hunks of frozen meat.

I haven't been able to go north for 2 years and I won't be, for the foreseeable future, so my peameal crisis is hyped to a new level. I sort of need it.

Pork loins were on sale last week at my local grocery store. My mind reeled...dare I MAKE a peameal? A 2 lb boneless loin lept into my basket, came home with me, and lay in wait for me to put on my mad scientist hat.

I researched like mad and determined a dry cure was the way I was going to try it (first) so a short road trip to the local Calahans (cowboy store) to procure Morton's Tender-quick and I was ready.

In a NON REACTIVE dish I put 1 Tbsp Tender-quick and 1 tsp sugar for each pound of boneless pork loin. I rubbed it in well and tightly bound it in a number of layers of saran wrap. Into the fridge with a giant TUESDAY written on it. 5 days to wait - seemed nothing after a 2 year wait.

After 5 days, I removed the loin and washed it well then dried it and rolled it in a heavy coating of cornmeal.

OK OK, historic peameal was rolled in yellow split pea meal but it isn't anymore, it's rolled in cornmeal so I went with the flavor I miss not the historical accuracy - sue me.

Back to my beloved pork loin, I rolled it in the cornmeal, thickly, covered it and put it back in the fridge.

Wednesday lunch - out came the pork. There aren't words to describe the level of joy and the elation of success. The picture above is how it came out of the fridge the day after being rolled...here's the rest of my journey (and yes, we ate it on the homemade french loaves we made yesterday because peameal cries out for being eaten, hot, on fresh bread in a sandwich;

Try it, it's 5 days but there's really only 5 minutes of work the entire time. If you don't try it, and you know me, don't worry, I'll feed you some. One at a time, the Texans will 'get' what Canadian bacon actually is. Specs and Central Market might get a sample too, the deli people did mention an interest in trying it if I mastered it.

That's one thing off the list of imports, now, if I could just get a Swiss Chalet, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire or a Pizza Pizza down here, I'd be set!

/enjoy!