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:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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.

    ReplyDelete

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