Sous Vide Pork Loin Roast
Slow cooking this pork loin roast in a circulating bath of warm water “Sous Vide” produces a product that is more tender and juicy than pork cooked by traditional methods. For a quick sauce for Sous Vide items, I often turn to compound butters which are so versatile, easy to make and convenient since they can be made well in advance. For this Pork Loin Roast, I have made an Apricot-Honey Compound Butter.
See my post “Sous Vide 101” for further information on the techniques and equipment I use and recommend.
If you can’t get “bone-in” pork loin roasts, you can easily substitute boneless pork loin as shown in the picture above. The loins are topped with a layer of fat back, some fresh rosemary sprigs and trussed with butcher’s twine. A mixture of Kosher salt, black pepper and freshly toasted and crushed fennel seeds are rubbed on the loins before they are bagged or vacuum sealed.
I cook these Pork Loins in a water bath set at 62-degrees C. (144-degrees F.) for 5 hours. When you are ready to serve them, open the bags, cut the string from the roasts and remove the rosemary. Sear the roasts on a hot grill or in a hot cast iron skillet. Slice and serve the pork with the Apricot & Honey Compound Butter.
TOOL TIP:
Butcher’s Twine is great for trussing up roasts and birds, but it has so many uses throughout the kitchen. This 3-ply twine comes in a 328-foot roll.
Sous Vide Pork Loin Roast
Course: EntreesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium8
servings40
minutes5
hoursIngredients
2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
one-5 pound, bone in pork loin roast
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 oz pork fat back, sliced very thin by butcher
8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- Apricot & Honey Compound Butter
1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
1/4 cup small diced dried apricots
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 pinches ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the “Sous Vide” circulating bath to 62-degrees C. or 144-degrees F.
- Toast the fennel seeds in a small sauté pan over medium-heat for a few minutes. Crush them with a meat mallet.
- Set the pork loin on a cutting board and rub it all over with salt, pepper and the cracked fennel seeds. With the roast sitting bones down, cover the top of the roast with the sliced fat back. Line the top of the roast with the fresh rosemary sprigs and truss the pork loin from one end to the other, holding the fat and rosemary in place.
- Either vacuum-seal the pork loin roast or place it in a heavy duty ziplock freezer bag, and displace the air from the bag.
- Cook the pork loin for 5 hours in the circulating bath. Remove the pouches from the water just before service and open the bags, discarding the juices. Cut and remove the strings, rosemary and fat back.
- Fire up the barbecue (or cast-iron skillet) and when it is hot, sear the pork loin all around until golden brown and crispy.
- Slice and serve with the Apricot & Honey Compound Butter.
- Apricot & Honey Compound Butter
- Place all of the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl and combine well.
- Spoon the butter out onto parchment paper, forming a thick 1 1/2-inch wide log. Roll into a smooth log in the paper and set up in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Slice the butter into 3/4-inch thick round slices and bring to room temperature just before serving.
