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trinidad bake pork

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Meat & Poultry

A non-traditional oven roasted pork recipe.

26 Comments on A non-traditional oven roasted pork recipe.

caribbean recipesWith the busy schedule we live (even though I work from home) I try my best to have a family meal on Sundays. And it seems that too is becoming harder to schedule with our girls being older now and having so many plans of their own. I remember how nice it was to have a Sunday lunch (probably the most important meal in the Caribbean) with everyone when we were growing up on the islands. The scent, the food, family being together and the “ethnic fatigue” that makes you want to sleep after that amazing meal. Though our girls may never experience that, at least they will recall Sunday dinners when they grow up and have a family of their own. Do you have a tradition when it comes to meals? Leave me your comments below.

You’ll Need:

1 pork loin roast, about 4-5 pounds (you can use boneless, but I like the extra flavour from the one with the bone intact)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (fresh ground is best)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Hot pepper sauce (or Tabasco)
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons fresh squeezed)
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar

Note: This in NOT a traditional dish from Trinidad and Tobago, but I’m positive you’ll love it.

Note: Many pork loins you get at the butcher or grocery may have the fat trimmed off it. If you can, get a cut with a thin layer of fat on the top (see my pic below) While it cooks in the oven that fat will help keep the meat from becoming too dry.

Start by preparing the baste well be using, by combining all the ingredients (except the pork) in a medium saucepan and then bring it to a boil. Allow it to simmer for about 7-10 minutes. I use a whisk to help everything mix together properly.

Then preheat your oven to about 325 while your baste simmers. I also wash the meat off with some cool water and dry it off before placing into my roasting pan. If you don’t have a pan with a cover, you’ll need some aluminum foil to tent the pan to seal in the juices while it roasts for the first couple hours.

roast pork recipe

home made pork roast marinade

pork loin roast recipe

Now your oven should be ready. Spoon some of the baste we just made onto the pork loin, cover the pan and place on the middle rack of the oven. Let that cook for about 2 hrs at the temp we set. Continue basting (spoon on) every 25 minutes or so. In my case I like pouring the entire basting liquid I prepared into the roasting pan and baste from that. Please note that since we used vinegar in the liquid, you will get a strong smell every time you open the roasting pan. Vinegar is one of those things our noses are very particular about, since we don’t use it as much in the Caribbean as it’s done in North America. Don’t be alarmed… your entire house will have a wonderful smell as this slowly cooks away in the oven.

oven roasted pork loin

Allow this to cook for about 2 hours, then remove the lid and allow it to cook for another 30-45 minutes with the lid off. Remember to keep basting. With the lid off you’ll notice that the fat (BTW, place the fat side up in the pan when roasting) will start to get dark and almost look as if it’s burning. Don’t worry about that. That’s added flavour đŸ™‚

Couple points.

1. After removing from the oven, allow the meat to rest a bit before slicing. This will allow any juices to redistribute back to the meat and help the meat itself relax.

2. The sauce at the bottom of the pan will be a bit tangy from the lemons and vinegar. It’s up to you to use it as a drizzle on the slices of roasted pork. But I find that our girls don’t really care for it.

trinidad bake pork

tangy pork roast recipe

caribbean roast pork

new trinidad pork roast recipe

trinidad bake pork recipe

So guess what I’m having for lunch today? Yes, roast pork sandwiches with a garlic/mayo/mustard sauce and slices of red onions.

Let me know if you have any questions by leaving me a message in the comments box below.

Happy cooking

Chris…

Caribbean Pot on Facebook

Meat & Poultry

Smells like Christmas in my house, though it’s September.

29 Comments on Smells like Christmas in my house, though it’s September.

trini bake porkIt’s funny how certain scents, music and even tv shows takes you back to a different time and place. Last night as I put together this recipe Tehya came up to me and asked “dad that smells good… what are you making?”. My response was “yea it’s smells like Christmas”. Like “Christmas”? I explained to her that I was making bake pork (roast pork in the oven) and I remembered that smell when her grandmother would make the traditional bake pork leg Christmas eve. To this day I can’t watch repeats of “The Little House On The Prairie or Waltons”, as it brings back a rush of memories. I still remember how we would all sit as a family to watch these shows as my mom would do the weekly ironing of our school uniforms and I miss the fact that we’ve all grown up and gone our separate ways.

Though Tehya didn’t remain wake to sample this amazing roasted pork, I’m sure when she comes home from school today she’ll be digging in. The ONLY approval I need when I cook is seeing our girls enjoy the final product. They are my judge and jury!

So what does Christmas smell like? Let’s get cooking so you’ll experience part of my childhood.

You’ll need…

5 lb pork leg (with bone)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon thyme (fresh)
1 sprig of Oregano
1 spring onion with bulb
3 cloves garlic
1 lime or lemon.
1/4 habanero pepper sliced very thin (any hot pepper of your choice)

* When you purchase the piece of pork leg do get the one with the bone and with the skin/fat. Don’t worry, you can remove the fat/skin when it’s done, but we need this to help add flavour and to prevent the meat from drying off while we slow cook it. A pork loin will not give us the desired final product we’re hoping to achieve.

Start off by putting the piece of pork in a large bowl, then squeeze the juice of a lime or lemon over it and add water to wash. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel and set aside.

trinidad bake pork recipe

* if you don’t have the spring onion with the onion bulb part 9I just so happened to have some in my garden) use scallions and a normal cooking onion as replacement.

The next step is to get the seasoning ready to coat and marinate the piece of pork. Chop as fine as you can, the onion, thyme and oregano (use shado beni or cilantro if you don’t have fresh oregano) and minced the garlic. In a small bowl place all the chopped ingredients and add the salt, black pepper and olive oil. Give it a good stir, then paste it all ove the pork leg. Make some small stab cuts into the pork leg (meat side – not the fat) and work some of the seasoning into those cuts. I also try to pull the skin back a bit and put some of the herb mixture under it. If you’re wondering why we used oil in the mixture, it’s to help combine everything and to allow it to attach to the meat.

Allow this to marinate for about 1 hr.

Tip: To get the flavour but not the heat from the habnaero, use the bottom part of the pepper and don’t use any of the seeds.

seasoning for oven roasted pork

how to season pork for roating

caribbean roast pork

TIP : I seasoned the pork in the roasting pan I’ll be using so I don’t have to worry about transferring anything when it’s time to cook and any seasoning that falls off the piece of meat will fall to the bottom of the pan and perfume the dish even further as it roast.

Preheat your oven to 375 then place the roasting pan (covered) on the middle rack and allow to cook for about 2 hrs at this temperature. TIP: Place the pork with the fat/skin side up, as mentioned before we’ll be using the fat to keep the meat moist and to add some extra flavour

baked pork recipe

After 2 hrs, I flip the pork over the pork to allow the meat side to get some of the direct heat and get  the browned colour we’ll looking for. At this point I also remove the cover from the pan and allow it to cook for another hour. After the first 30 minutes of the final hour of cooking I flip back the meat with the skin side up and allow that side to get some colour as well. You will notice that the skin will shrink and not look how it did when we first started. A good way to know when the roast is done it to use push on the bone to see if it moves freely.

bake pork recipe

trini christmas bake pork

trini roast pork

Allow to cool a bit before slicing and trimming out the fat and skin. My favourite way to enjoy this roasted pork is on a sandwich or on it’s own. I create a simple dipping sauce for it with equal parts ketchup and soy sauce, to which I add some of my homemade hotsauce. Whisk together with a few drops of fresh lime juice and enjoy.

BTW you’ll notice that the herbs we used in seasoning will become dark and give the impression that it’s burnt… that’s just the natural sugars caramelizing. Scoop some of that onto your sandwich as well.. it’s lovey!

Final TIP. You will now have a very dirty roasting pan which can be a bit of a task to clean. I usually get a sheet of fabric softner (static guard) and place it in the pan, fill with water and allow it to soak overnight. Not sure what happens, but all that baked-on grime releases from the pan and cleans up with soap and water.