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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| TAMARA KEEL PHOTO |
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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| TAMARA KEEL PHOTO |
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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| TAMARA KEEL PHOTO |
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:
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.
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.
Looks damn good to me.
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