Any Herb Roasted Pork Loin

At this point, I've become very accustomed to not only feeding our family of five, but also hosting  family dinners.  Our family + my parents + my sisters family + my husbands parents, + my husbands brothers family = 18 people.  And that's just IMMEDIATE family members!

My love for cooking probably stems from my love for improvisation.  This recipe works well with whatever fresh or dry herbs I've substituted. Fresh rosemary and thyme? Yummy!  Dried rosemary and thyme?  Still Yummy!!!  Dried Italian seasoning? Yummy!  Dried Herbs DeProvence? Yummy!

As much as I love to cook and improvise, I love spending time with my family even more.  Roasting a loin of pork is a great entree that doesn't require much hands-on time.  I try to time the cooking of the loin so that it's done just as guests arrive.  While it's resting, we're having salads and appetizers and the pork is ready to cut into, just in time for dinner.

Herb Crusted Pork Loin

Ingredients

Base recipe
1 (4-pound) boneless pork loin, with fat left on
1 TBSP Kosher Salt
2 TBSP olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp of garlic powder)

Option 1

1 tsp dried basil or 2 tsp fresh basil leaves
1 tsp dried rosemary or 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves

Option 2

1 TBSP dried Herbs De Provence

Option 3

1 TBSP dried Italian Seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

1. Place the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan. 

2. Combine the remaining ingredients with either Option 1, 2 or 3 in a small bowl. 

3. Using your hands, coat the entire pork loin with the mixture. 

4. Insert thermometer probe into center of meat (connecting it to the external digital display) and put the loin into the oven.

5. Roast the pork for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and roast for 45-60 minutes, until thermometer reads 155 degrees.

6. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 20 minutes. The internal temperature of the loin will continue to rise while it's resting. 

Eat, Drink & Be Yummy!