Bay Leaf Crusted Pork Roast Recipes

PORK ROAST WITH THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• With a small knife, pierce top of roast. Force garlic slices into the cuts. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper. Place bay leaves in the bottom of the roasting pan, and set roast on top of bay leaves, fat side up. Mix vinegar and thyme in a small bowl, and pour over the top of the roast.
• Bake in the preheated oven 3 hours, or until an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) is reached. Using a baster or spoon, baste the drippings over the roast frequently while it is cooking. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes when done before slicing.

FRUIT-PECAN PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Place roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onions in 1 tablespoon of butter for 1 minute. Add orange juice and bay leaf; cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Add the cranberry sauce, broth, pecans and vinegar; cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in the salt, pepper, sugar and remaining butter until butter is melted. Discard bay leaf. , Remove 1/4 cup sauce and stir in preserves; spoon over roast. Set remaining sauce aside. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 145°. Let meat stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved sauce.

CORIANDER PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Combine 2 tablespoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, the coriander, red pepper flakes, sage, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic in a food processor and pulse to make a paste. Pierce the pork all over with a paring knife, then rub with the spice paste. Tie the roast with kitchen twine so it keeps its shape.
• Transfer the meat to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon along with the chicken broth, potatoes and rutabaga. Cover and cook on high, 7 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the meat to a cutting board; cover with foil and set aside. Skim off the fat from the cooking liquid. Add the tomatoes, sugar and the juice of the remaining orange and lemon to the slow cooker; cover and cook on high, 30 more minutes. Stir in the mint just before serving.
• Remove the twine from the pork and slice. Serve with the vegetables and cooking liquid.

MUSTARD-AND-HERB-CRUSTED PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Brine the pork: Combine 4 cups water, the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns and cloves in a large pot or wide Dutch oven (large enough to hold the pork). Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add 8 cups ice cubes; stir occasionally until the brine is cooled.
• Make small deep cuts, about 2 inches apart, all over the pork and between the ribs using the tip of a paring knife. Add the pork to the pot and submerge in the brine; add more cold water if needed to completely submerge. Refrigerate overnight.
• Set a rack in a roasting pan and put the pan on the lowest oven rack; preheat to 325 degrees F. Remove the pork from the brine, pat dry and set aside to bring to room temperature. Remove 3 cups brine (along with the spices) to a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove the hot roasting pan from the oven and carefully stand up the pork on the rack with the chine bone down. Add the hot brine to the bottom of the pan. Roast until the fat is mostly rendered, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the crust: Pulse the panko, butter, scallion, parsley, thyme and juniper berries in a food processor until the herbs are coarsely chopped and the mixture is combined.
• Remove the pork from the oven and reposition so it is meat-side up; brush the top and sides with the mustard, then sprinkle with the panko mixture, patting to adhere. Return to the oven and roast 50 more minutes.
• Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue roasting until the crust is crisp and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F, about 20 more minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and let rest 20 minutes before carving.

LOIN OF PORK WITH BAY LEAVES

Steps:

• In a small bowl mix the olive oil, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and crumbled bay leaves and rub the mixture all over the meat. Put the pork on a large dish or in a large plastic bag and cover the dish or tie up the bag and leave in the refrigerator if you've got steeping time; otherwise - if you're about to start cooking it - just leave it out.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with the onion. Strew over the onion 10 whole bay leaves. Place the pork, including its marinade, on top and the bones all around, if they fit and if you've got them. Roast in the oven for about 1 3/4 hours or to an internal temperature of 150 to 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, basting regularly.
• Remove the pork, scraping burnt bits off, to a plate or carving board and let it sit. On the stove at moderate heat, pour the wine and 1/2 cup boiling water over the bones, bay, garlic, and onion. Let it bubble up and reduce by about a third, and then remove the bones gingerly and strain the liquid contents into a saucepan. Heat, correct the seasoning, and add liquid as you like to make a good, thin, not-quite gravy.
• Carve the loin, put the slices on a big warmed plate, sprinkle with salt, and pour over a little of the juice-gravy, then tent with foil and leave in the turned-off oven while you eat the starter. It is a bit prinky, I know, but it will look fabulous if, when you take it out, you arrange, Napoleonically, some more bay leaves around the edges of the dish with the bay-scented pork.

SUNDAY PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place vegetables on bottom of a shallow roasting pan. Mix 2 tablespoons flour, bay leaf, thyme, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper; rub over roast. Place roast on top of vegetables, fat side up. Add 2 cups water to pan., Roast, uncovered, 1-1/2 hours. Sprinkle brown sugar over roast. Roast 15-20 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 140°. (Temperature of roast will continue to rise another 5-10° upon standing.), Remove roast to a platter. Tent with foil; let stand 15 minutes before slicing., Strain drippings from roasting pan into a measuring cup; skim fat. Add enough water to the drippings to measure 1-1/2 cups., In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk remaining flour and 1/3 cup water until smooth. Gradually whisk in drippings mixture and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve roast with gravy. Freeze option: Freeze cooled sliced pork and gravy in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered saucepan, gently stirring and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

LIDIA'S POT ROASTED HERB SCENTED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Put 1/2 cup rosemary leaves, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 5 garlic cloves, 8 sage leaves and 1 teaspoon of salt into a food processor bowl.
• Process until you have a fairly smooth paste.
• Lay out the pork loin fat side down.
• Cut along the top side of the"tail" and into the eye of the roast.
• Continue cutting in a sawing motion, unrolling the loin into a rectangle of more or less even thickness.
• Spread the entire top surface of the pork evenly with the herb paste.
• Starting with the side opposite the tail, roll the roast into a compact roll with a spiral of herb filling running through it.
• Tie the roast at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine.
• Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Set the meat into a round 5-quart casserole dish.
• Add the remaining rosemary sprigs, sage leaves, garlic and bay leaf.
• Pour in just enough water to cover the meat.
• Season the water lightly with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook, turning the meat occasionally, until almost all of the water has evaporated and the meat begins to stick to the casserole, about 2 hours.
• Skim any foam off of the surface as needed.
• Pour off the fat remaining in the braising pan and pour in the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Adjust the heat to very low.
• Cook, turning often, until the pork has a caramelized golden brown crust, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Let the meat rest for 20 minutes and then slice into 1/4" thick slices.

ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PRUNES AND BAY LEAVES

Steps:

• In a bowl, pour boiling water over the bay leaves and prunes; set aside for 15 minutes; preheat oven to 400°.
• Cut a 1" slit along the length of the roast, leaving 1" uncut on each end; drain bay leaves and prunes and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place prunes tightly in bottom of slit; crumble 1 of the bay leaves and sprinkle it over the prunes; roll the roast and tie it tightly with string every 1".
• Season with salt and pepper; place the remaining bay leaves under the string; coat roasting pan with cooking spray, roast to desired doneness or 30-35 minutes; rest the roast 5-10 minutes before slicing, removing bay leaves.