For pork loin (not tenderloin) I would vote for Julia Child’s “marinade seche” or “dry marinade” which is basically a rub of salt, garlic, and herbs IIRC. I can look it up if you’re interested. We’ve made it many times and it is really delicious.
EDIT – I found a recipe online, I don’t remember the allspice but this is pretty much it
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme or sage leaves
1 bay leaf, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press
Cool stuff! I’ll definitely research the physical properties of any plastic wrap I’m considering using in the preparation before I go ahead and actually use it; I’m not too keen on eating melted plastic.
Don’t be feared, but make sure you use commercial grade wrap. I have no idea what Saran would do (and I suspect you wouldn’t get the benefits of a proper seal that you do with commercial)
Brian–it was an online source, but right now I can’t remember where I got that particular brand and it doesn’t seem to show up on the usual Internet searches. But I know you can find it elsewhere, such as on Amazon:
I made my own, once, using this recipe as a guide: http://www.thehungrycuban.com/mojo-criollo-cuban-marinate/
I didn’t have sour oranges, so I used a combination of orange and lime juices, and I omitted the cilantro and cut back on the garlic.
I only made it once, however, because it wasn’t significantly better than the widely-available and inexpensive Goya brand.
Robert–Thanks; I’m going to give that recipe a try. Unfortunately my grocery store didn’t have the Goya brand (or any other brand), so I’ll probably have to go to an Hispanic store to search it out for next time.
My favorite pork loin recipe as of late is Italian roast pork sandwich. It’s pretty close to Johns in Philadelphia.
FOR THE BRINE AND THE PORK:
1 cups kosher salt
3 bay leaves
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
½ bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 boneless pork loin (2–3 lb.), tied with kitchen twine
1/2 cups white wine
Brine: Bring salt, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, garlic, parsley, and 1 gallon of water to a boil in an 8-qt. saucepan over high heat; stir until salt dissolves.Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Add pork and cover saucepan. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Heat oven to 350°. Remove pork from brine and dry with paper towels. Place in a crock pot atop 4 carrots, pepper, and add wine. Place pan on oven rack, and roast until pork reaches an internal temperature of 140° for medium or 150° for medium-well done, 40–50 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
bring some veal stock to a boil (add granulated garlic if you like), with slices of thin pork and let warm for 3-5 minutes. Toast up some fresh Italian bread or as I do and make a fresh baguette and while still warm add a slice or 2 of provolone cheese. Place a bunch of pork on sandwich and spoon some gravy on. The pork really soaks up the flavor of South Philly! Wowsa!
I did the marinade last night with the homemade Mojo Criollo per Robert’s recipe. It was delicious, and I’m using the leftovers today to make my first Cuban-style sandwich. I don’t have actual Cuban rolls or bread, so that’s why it’s not a true Cuban sandwich.
Glenn here. I use Goya and there is also a Goya bitter orange non Mojo bottle. The Mojo is ready to go on its own. Good for longer marinades on meats but not too long on fish.
The bitter orange is indeed bitter and I use it with some sugar as the base for fish and steamed broccoli in a bitter orange, ginger, garlic pan sauce.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}