Rosemary Garlic Pork Roast
Roast
- 4 lbs pork loin
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp thyme (fresh or dry)
- 1 tbsp rosemary (fresh or dry)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp parsley (fresh chopped)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 bulbs garlic (cut in half)
TO MAKE IN OVEN:
Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
Create the rub as described above and rub over the loin. Sear the pork loin on all sides in olive oil. Layer sliced onion on the bottom of the slow cooker to prevent the pork loin from burning.
In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil with the thyme, rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, salt and pepper.
Spray a skillet that's oven safe with cooking spray. Place the pork loin in the skillet and rub the pork with the rosemary garlic rub thoroughly. Sear the pork over high heat on all sides until nicely browned. Top with more garlic cloves if preferred and add garlic bulbs to the skillet. Put skillet in oven or transfer to roasting pan and roast uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145F to 155F.
TO MAKE IN SLOW COOKER:
Layer bottom of slow cooker with sliced onion (to prevent pork loin from burning), put seasoned pork loin on top and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.
Remove the roast from the oven/slow cooker and place the pork on a cutting board. Cover the meat completely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting it and serving it. (Make sure you let your pork loin rest! It will be tempting to cut into it right away but this will result in all those juices leaving the meat and making your roast dry.)
Peppercorn Gravy
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup onion (very finely chopped)
- 2 - 3 Tbsp crushed peppercorns (black, green or red peppercorns, or a mixture *See Notes)
- 3/4 - 1 cup red or white wine (or omit and use a bit more broth)
- 6 Tbsp flour (can substitute with cornstarch)
- 3 cups chicken or beef broth (*see Notes)
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or a pinch of dried thyme leaves)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (35% b.f. or omit for a non-creamy sauce, *see Notes)
- Salt (to taste)
Melt butter in skillet used to brown pork.
Add the onions and peppercorns and stir until the onions are starting to colour, about 1 minute.
Add the wine and cook, stirring, until mostly evaporated, about 1 minute.
Whisk in flour until well combined and no white specks remain. Let cook 2 minutes.
Add the broth, Dijon mustard and thyme. Reduce heat to medium and allow sauce to simmer/reduce for a few minutes to blend the flavours and reduce slightly.
Add cream, if using and stir to combine and warm through. Taste the sauce and season with salt, as needed.
Notes:
To crush peppercorns, use a mortar and pestle or simply hit them with a wooden rolling pin on a large cutting board. If you don't have any whole peppercorns on hand, use a pepper grinder on the coarsest setting to get the biggest pieces of pepper in the sauce.
You can use either chicken or beef broth for the sauce. Generally, red wine is best combined with beef broth and white wine combined with chicken broth.
Heavy, whipping cream is recommended as the higher fat level prevents the sauce from splitting in the presence of the acidic wine. While you can use a lighter cream, it may split and leave small white fat chunks in your sauce and result in a less than smooth sauce.
This gravy is delicious with or without cream, so just go with what you're feeling in the moment.