Life is moving at a breakneck pace these days, at least it is for me. Intending to make Mojo Pork, I was sprinting through Wegman’s gathering ingredients and actually picked up a pork loin roast rather than a butt. Hmm. Pork loin will dry out if cooked too long, no matter how low the temp, but I still wanted the flavors of Mojo. Time to pivot.
INGREDIENTS
Marinade
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cilantro, lightly packed
1 tbsp orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice, fresh
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup mint leaves, lightly packed
8 garlic cloves
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, packed (or 1/2 tbsp dried oregano)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Roast
2.5-3 pound pork loin or leg roast
3 large sweet potatoes
1 large red onion, quartered
1 large blood orange or regular orange
1 lemon
2 small limes
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
METHOD
Combine marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until the herbs and garlic are finely chopped.
Place in a large Ziploc bag with the pork.
Place in the fridge overnight (in a bowl, just to be safe).
Remove the pork from the marinade and leave on counter for 1 hour to bring to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 250.
Cut all the citrus in quarters.
Place the vegetables in a Dutch oven and coat with about 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Salt and pepper them, then mix.
Top the veggies with the quartered citrus.
Place the roast in the middle of the pan, on top of everything else.
Roast, covered, for about an hour, checking the internal temperature halfway through and basting with the pan juices.
The temperature should be no more than about 130 -135 degrees before you move to the next step.
Set your oven to broil for 5-10 minutes to brown the top of the roast and the veggies.
Remove from the oven. make sure the temperature is now about 145. If you go much above that, the pork will have the consistency of an old flip-flop, so be careful.
Mound some sweet potatoes on a plate and top with a few slices of pork.
Make sure to serve some of the roasted citrus on the plate. Grilled or roasted citrus takes on a much more earthy, sweet flavor than its raw counterparts. Let your guests squeeze some of the cooked citrus over their pork.
So, not necessarily the shredded, saucy, fatty pork I was originally planning.
But sometimes mistakes can be mmmmagic!
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