There is one dish I can think of that I like to eat before Thanksgiving. A kind of pre Thanksgiving feast that really starts to wrap up the fall and begin the holiday season. This pen ultimate dish has the feel that the weather is getting colder, it is starting to rain more, and just accentuates that the produce as well is changing in the market. And it’s another way to cook pork that isn’t all about the pork, but more about the balance that pork brings to the overall dish.
In our neck of the woods, pork is probably the least eaten meat of the three meats that are most consumed. It is further down from beef and chicken. And processed pork is more consumed, like bacon and pepperoni, more so than straight pieces of pork roasted or stewed. I would wager it’s because of health consciousness, and for me, most commodity pigs just don’t have that much flavor. Their diet is based on fastest weight gain just to get to the market to make a buck. And most industries rely heavily on Berkshire breeds because they produce the biggest litters. More pigs, means more revenue.
So for my meals, I look for Duroc breeds. They have a more porky flavor that means more taste in every bite. Duroc can be a little harder to find locally, so your grocery store may have it in stock from a farm out of state, so look up the farm’s practices to get a clue as to how the pigs are raised. That is also key to how their meat will taste.
I was fortunate enough to raise Durocs once to get a feel of how pigs behave. They, like domestic pets, love to live in at leats pairs so they have someone to play with. They are potty trained in the sense that they will pick one place to go and hold on to that thought. And their food consumption is a lot like humans. They will eat enough until they are full. I had imagined, based on what information I saw growing up watching cartoons that they ate like dogs. If they see food they would eat it until it was all gone. But instead one day I gave them too much leftovers and they ended up playing in it after eating what they could.
Pork feed has been optimized so that pigs will grow about one pound a day. If you are not interested in weight gain for the market sake, then the food is based on the pig’s enjoyment and using up leftovers. They will definitely still grow big, but just at a slower rate. I also learned that pigs are ready to be eaten when they reach two hundred pounds. Why that number? Well they will actually continue to grow, but the machines that process the animals have a weight capacity limit capped at two hundred. Duroc pigs, look different than Berkshires. Berkshires are the classic pink pigs with some white hare. Durocs, are brown hair pigs, but once processed, their skin is shaved to reveal the same pink skin underneath.
The fall seasonal dish utilized the pork loin of the animal. This is a long piece of muscle that pigs have two of and runs down their back adjacent to their spinal column. Cows have this same muscle only bigger and you would see this meat as steak of different kinds based on where the cut is. Pigs not only have the loin, but the tenderloin too. These muscles tend to run lean with a layer of fat just on the top as a cap. This is why their diet becomes important for that is how the flavor of the animal is impacted. The flavor of their fat is impacted by what food they get to eat.
I have had dry pork loins before in my life. This is due to overcooking. In order to get the meat tasting tender, use a probe thermometer. I roast the pork until it’s internal temperature is about 140, then when out of the oven, there is a carry over temperature in which the meat is still heating that will raise the inside temp to about 145 to 150. Let the meat rest for at least thirty minutes too. This will allow the juices still inside to cool down and not weep out while cutting. The pork loin for this dish is brined to bring seasoning, moisture, and flavor through out all of the muscle, and then it is rubbed with garlic and rosemary. The rubbed on spiced also created and great smelling crust that provided a good texture contrast.
I like to get my pork as a whole animal. This is important in making sauces. All of the bones are a great source to make stocks. Home made stocks contain much more gelatin and flavor profiles than what is found in a store. For this dish, to sauce the pork loin, a pork stock reduction is made and dijon mustard and butter is whisked in. At the end, vinegar and lemon is added to balance the fat from the butter.
The reason why I find this meat to be balanced, is that it is rested on a bed of sauteed apples and cabbage. The contrast of the rough and tender vegetables with its acidity adds to the light delicate taste of the pork and the unctuous velvet of the sauce binds everything together. So to start off your holidays, don’t look to the turkey. Consider making a meal to mark the close of fall and the start of what for most of us becomes a busy sprint to the end of the year.
