Chermoula Marinated Pork Loin

Pork loin is all or nothing for me.  It’s either juicy, succulent, and full of delicious porky flavor, or it’s as dry and chewy as a hockey puck.  When done correctly, the loin is one of my favorite cuts of pork.  Tied and pan roasted, it makes for a roast as beautiful as it is tasty, perfect for a small dinner party.  But pork loin can be finicky.  Because it is relatively lean, it does have a tendency to dry out. And being pork, the loin needs lots of seasoning to be flavorful.

Before the pork loin goes anywhere near a pan, there are steps you can take to ensure that the final product will come out juicy.  First, get a high quality piece of pork.  Look for one in your butcher’s case that has good marbling, has most of its fat cap intact, and that still looks pink and fresh.  If the only pork loin you can find is vacuum sealed in plastic and labeled as “enhanced” pork (i.e., pork that has been injected with salt water), consider using this marinade on a nice pork chop instead.

Brining is an additional step you can take towards keeping your pork loin juicy.  I use a very basic brine for this recipe, because the pork loin is marinated after brining.  As an alternative recipe, try using the brine I call for in my Roast Chicken recipe.  Pan roast the loin as I do below and make a simple pan sauce with all of the delicious brown bits sticking the bottom of the skillet.  The end result would make a Frenchman proud.

Pork loin benefits from heavy seasoning and pairs great with big, intense flavors.  The chermoula marinade I use here – a potent North African marinade traditionally used to season vegetables – penetrates the pork with deep and complex flavors and imparts the loin with an attractive golden brown exterior when seared.

The chermoula calls for both fresh ginger and fresh turmeric.  You can substitute dried ground turmeric if you cannot find fresh, but the fresh ginger is essential. If you have never seen tumeric, it looks like small, orange fresh ginger that is as bright as a carrot when peeled and gets on everything it touches (see photos).  Grating the ginger, turmeric, onion and garlic on a Microplane grater or through the small holes of a box grater intensifies their flavors and will help to tenderize the meat.

Chermoula Marinated Pork Loin

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin roast, 2-3 pounds

8 cups water
½ cup Kosher salt

1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
2 cloves garlic, grated
¼ cup grated yellow onion
½ teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh turmeric, or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons unsmoked Spanish paprika
Grated zest of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Trim the pork loin of any excess fat, but be sure to leave most of the fat cap intact. Tie the loin at one inch intervals with butcher’s twine, making sure to tie it very tightly so that the roast will maintain its shape during cooking.
2. Combine the water and salt in a large bowl and stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Add the trimmed and tied pork loin, cover, and refrigerate for 8-10 hours, or overnight.
3. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Remove to the bowl of a spice grinder and add the peppercorns and chile flakes. Grind finely.
4. Transfer the ground spices to a small bowl and add the garlic, onion, ginger, turmeric, paprika, lemon zest, parsley, cilantro and two tablespoons of the olive oil.  Stir to combine.
5. Remove the pork loin from the brine and rinse under cold, running water. Dry thoroughly with paper towels.
6. Rub the chermoula all over the pork loin, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. The next day, pre-heat your oven to 325° F. Unwrap the pork loin and wipe most of the chermoula off with your hands. Allow to sit at room temperature for one hour to temper.
8. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the pork loin and sear on all sides until well browned, about 10 minutes.
9. Turn the pork loin so that the fat cap is on top, and then place the skillet in the oven. Roast until center of roast registers about 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 35 to 45 minutes.
10. Remove the roast to a plate. Cover with tin foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
11. After the roast has rested, transfer to a carving board. Cut the twine with scissors and discard. Slice the roast into ½ inch to ¾ inch slices. Poor any accumulated juices from the resting plate over the slices and serve.

Wasabi Deviled Eggs with Sriracha

Deviled eggs are a timeless tradition of delectable snacking that lends itself well to pretty much any party or potluck in any season. These deviled eggs are no exception, and were added to our Holiday Party line up. They are salty, spicy, and have a subtle hint of star anise that makes for a more Eastern take of a Southern classic. I love deviled eggs in pretty much every available format, but the only thing better than one kind of deviled egg is SEVERAL kinds of deviled eggs.

The original recipe (available at the Food and Wine website), uses scallions in the marinade, but we were fresh out of scallions when we first made these and substituted a combination of onions and garlic in its place, as this is essentially a marinade so presentation really isn't an issue. It worked wonderfully. The main flavors from the marinade are fresh ginger, soy, sake, and star anise and the onion is more of a background note. And given we are more likely to have an onion on hand than to have a bunch of scallions, it's been a useful substitute.

The star of this show is the wasabi and sriracha filling, which takes this from just being salty to packing a kick at the end of each bite that makes people eat them before I am able to take the "finished" photo of what they look like, which gives you a sense of their popularity. If you want a quick and dirty version that doesn't involve a bunch of star anise and hours of marinating, you can just make the filling and skip the marinade. Your eggs won't get a cool tint and will not have quite the complexity, but the filling is pretty delicious on its own. Even with the marinade, this still qualifies as a pretty easy recipe. If you want to throw some extra eggs in there, go ahead. We've squeezed in 15 eggs into the marinade without increasing the amounts of the marinade (this might require more stirring for even coating). Above that I would recommend making some extra marinade.
 

Wasabi Deviled Eggs with Sriracha

Makes 24 eggs

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup sake
1 cup water
2 cups soy sauce
10 star anise pods

1 medium yellow onion, chopped (or 1/2 cup of chopped scallions)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 dozen large eggs 
1 tablespoon Sriracha  
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 cup snipped chives
2 1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste 
Chinese five-spice powder 


Instructions 

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, soy sauce with the sake, star anise, onion (or scallions if using), garlic, sugar and grated ginger.
2. Bring soy mixture to a boil. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof medium bowl and let cool completely. 
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, then cover the saucepan, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes until hard boiled.
4. Drain the water from the large saucepan. Cool the eggs slightly under cold running water to stop the cooking process, then peel them under cold running water. 
5. Add the eggs to the completely cooled soy mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the eggs for at least 4 hours, stirring once in awhile to ensure that all the eggs are fully immersed in the soy mixture and will color evenly.
6. Drain the eggs and rinse lightly to remove any bits of scallion or ginger; pat dry. The outside of the eggs will become a tannish brown color.
7. Using a slightly moistened thin, sharp knife (non-serrated), cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Yolks should be bright yellow, cooked all the way through, and the knife should cut cleanly through the yolk.
8. Gently pry the egg yolks into a medium bowl without breaking the cooked white. Leave the whites aside and mash yolks with a fork or potato masher until the mixture is as free of lumps as possible. If some remain, they will be taken care of during the piping process.
9. Stir the mayonnaise, Sriracha, wasabi and 3 tablespoons of the snipped chives into the mashed yolks until fully combined.
10. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a star or plain tip. Set the egg whites on a serving platter and pipe in the filling. If you don't have a pastry bag, cut off the corner of a plastic Ziploc bag, or just use a spoon for a slightly more rustic but equally delicious look. At this point, if you are making these ahead of time, you can stop here and store the eggs in a fridge overnight until ready to serve.
11. Right before serving, sprinkle a pinch of Chinese five-spice powder on each of the deviled eggs then top with the remaining chive snips or thinly sliced scallions if wanted.