Ask people about about a pork roast and you’ll hear two things: It’s too dry, and it’s too tough… Both of those problems stem from over-cooking; over-cooking that we’ve been told we have to do by ‘food safety experts’. However the tides have turned, and research now reveals that pork is safely cooked at much lower temperatures – plus the dangers we’ve been warned about actually don’t exist.
Ingredients:
1 ½ tsp (7 mL) fennel seeds
1 Tbsp (15 mL) coarse salt
1 Tbsp (15 mL) rosemary leaves
2 tsp (5 mL) black pepper corns
5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (optional)
¼ cup (10g) sage leaves and tender sprigs
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
5 Tbsp (75 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 Kg 6-8 ribs pork rib roast
Method:
In small fry pan, dry toast fennel seeds until fragrant.
Place salt, rosemary, pepper corns, sage,toasted fennel seeds, garlic (if using), and lemon zest, in blender.
Run blender briefly to chop everything up, then drizzle in olive oil, and blend until mixture becomes a paste, scraping down sides occasionally with a spatula.
Rub seasoning paste all over meat, making sure to coat completely including any of the crevices .
Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
You can place in the refrigerator overnight if you wish, just bring to room temperature for at least a couple of hours before roasting.
Preheat oven to 250°F (120ºC)
Slow roast the pork until an instant read thermometer reads 140ºF (60ºC)
Pull the pork from the oven and tent with foil
Heat the oven broiler.
Place the roast back in the oven under the broiler for 5 -10 minutes to brown, turning to brown all sides.
Took 1hour 45 minutes for a 2Kg roast to reach 140ºF (60ºC)
Temp after resting and browning: 145ºF
***Internal temp of the pork roast must reach 145ºF and remain there for at least 3 minutes.
