Sunday, July 05, 2020

Pork Roast At Roseholme Cottage

     It was something I'd been wanting to try for awhile: a version of my Mom's Sunday Pork Roast, a dish that cooked slowly in the oven for hours, filling the house with a maddeningly tantalizing aroma.  For the last hour, it would be joined in the pan by potatoes, onions, carrots and celery, which cooked in the juices under a little aluminum-foil "tent" and emerged darkened and flavorful.

     The oven here at Roseholme cottage is not so great; the elderly gas range is overdue for replacement.  With temperatures in the 90s, running it for several hours is a non-starter.  I do, however, possess an entirely adequate charcoal grill.  It's not going to make the outdoors noticeably hotter.

     Our neighborhood grocer has been stocking nice-looking pork roasts recently -- and the price is a fraction of the cost of beef.

     Obviously, I had to try it.  With a pork roast in hand -- or in a very large freezer bag -- I made a marinade of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, a little garlic powder and a teaspoon of onion powder, some thyme and rosemary, black pepper and shichimi togarishsi, and gave it a day to soak.  (Some kind of fruit would have been a nice addition -- cherries, a fresh pear, an apple, possibly even citrus.)

     Yesterday, I stoked the grill.  I've been using excelsior -- plane shavings -- from nice pine to start the hardwood kindling and charcoal, and they work a treat.  I built a big chimney of kindling and charcoal, and set it going with a single match.  It turned out to be barely enough charcoal to do the job -- but enough, nevertheless.
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     After a mere two and a half hours, hey, presto!  I thought some chili peppers would be nice to add.
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     Done enough to add vegetables.  We had a few to use up: potato, onion, carrot, celery, turnip, radishes, mushrooms, and Brussels sprouts (Yes, I dropped a mushroom.):
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     I covered the pan with aluminum foil.  After an hour that included some desperate poking together of coals and blowing on them to to get the heat up, it looks good--
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     --From any angle.
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     And just as good on the plate!

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     It was very tasty, a bit spicy, and the roast was plenty moist.  I'll be trying this again, and starting with a little more charcoal.  Was it as good as my Mom's?  Probably not.  But I wouldn't have been ashamed to serve it to her.

3 comments:

B said...

I do essentially the same marinade, except I use a bit of orange juice. (or, oddly enough, Mountain Dew works too).

Makes for a meal for several, then another of "stew" generally.

and about the cheapest way to feed people besides spaghetti or chicken soup.

Alien said...

Ever thought about opening a restaurant? Call it "Plain and Simple" and offer, well, plain and simple food that's nutritous and delicious (although, some of your dinners have had a fair number of moving parts...).

I've copied several of your recipes and they've all been stellar. This one looks like another winner.

Running a restaurant is a Grade 1 PITA, so hire a good, trustworthy manager and devote yourself to being the Head Chef. Maybe something to do after you've tired of the electronics and idiot manager world.

BWBandy said...

Looks damn good to me.