Roasted Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts, Shallots, Garlic

Alexandra Guarnaschelli

Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli

Show: Alex's Day OffEpisode: Dinner with Friends

Rated 4 stars out of 5
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  • Read 24 Reviews
Total Time:
1 hr 10 min
Cook
1 hr 10 min
Yield:
8 servings
Level:
Intermediate
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Directions

I love this recipe because it elevates a lean cut of pork and makes it rich and tender.

Whenever I roast a whole cut of meat, I also love to include "built-in" vegetables. These vegetables end up with a wonderful flavor after cooking in the oven. It is important, however, to make sure the pork roast has enough air circulating around (and underneath it) as it cooks. Use a roasting pan fitted with a grill rack so the meat is slightly elevated as it cooks.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup grainy mustard
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus 1 lemon, zested and juiced (2 lemons total)
  • 8 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pork loin, preferably center cut or relatively "even" in thickness from 1 side to the other
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 cloves, or 1 head, garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
  • 2 cups Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and dry outer leaves removed
  • 14 to 20 small shallots, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 1 slice rye bread, diced
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, add the Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, the zest and juice from 1 of the lemons, the fresh thyme and the butter. Whisk together and set aside. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat and add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to the pan. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper, to taste, and gingerly put the pork loin in the hot oil. Brown the pork, without moving it around, for 3 minutes. Use a pair of kitchen tongs or 2 large spoons, to gently, but firmly, rotate the pork a 1/4 turn in the oil. Repeat this process turning the pork every 3 to 4 minutes. The most important thing? Be patient. Get the other vegetables together as the meat browns.

For your "Built-In Vegetables":

Meanwhile, toss the garlic cloves, Brussels sprouts and shallots in a bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt, to taste, and stir in the chili flakes. Heat a roasting pan over medium-high heat. Arrange the vegetables evenly in the bottom of the roasting pan and cook just until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes.

When the pork is browned on all sides, remove it from the skillet and put it on a rack in the roasting pan, flesh side up, fatty side down.

In the same cast iron pan that was used to brown the pork, discard some of the leftover fat, leaving about 1 to 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the diced bread and toast over low heat. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside until service.

Take care to disperse the vegetables so the heat in the oven can circulate around and under the pork as it cooks. Pour the mustard mixture over the pork. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F and put the roasting pan in the center of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Test the temperature in the center of the loin. You are looking for an "ideal" internal temperature of 90 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Roast for 10 to 15 additional minutes and test again. You are looking for an ideal temperature of 125 degrees F. Remove the pork from the pan and allow it to "rest" for 10 minutes.

Put the roasting pan on top of the stove, over low heat, and add the vinegar and the juice and zest from the remaining lemon. Stir to blend with the vegetables. Taste for seasoning.

Arrange the pork in the center of a platter (sliced or whole) and spoon the vegetables and any cooking liquid over the top. Garnish with croutons and serve.

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 24 reviews

  • on December 29, 2011

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    We used this recipe for our Christmas eve dinner. It was delicious. Instead of Brussels Sprouts, etc., I used turnips and parsnips. We had Brussels Sprouts as a side dish. I will use this method of cooking pork again.

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  • on December 06, 2011

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    This was better on my 3rd attempt. This time I seared outside on the grill after brining my roast for 24 hrs in a simple brown sugar and Kosher salt 50-50 mix. I got a great bargain on this roast at $2.99/ lb, for a 3.87 lb roast, so I was eager to experiment further with this recipe. Searing on a 450 degree gas grill worked great. Gave me beautiful grill marks. Then I followed Alex's directions almost word for word, except I added a 3rd mustard, a hot and sweet type, and this combo was better than the Dijon and the grainy combo. I also "stuffed" the loin with peeled garlic chunks in addition to roasting whole, unpeeled cloves. That roasted garlic flavor adds another level to this dish. Ditto the lemon zest. Thanks, Alex!

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  • on May 07, 2011

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    I would agree this was an excellent meal... One thing that should of been mentioned was you should use just enough mustard sauce to coat the roast thinly so it can crust up. I just did what was told and poured the mixture all over the roast. And it had a nice crust when done... but soooo much mixture in between the crust and roast that it fell off into the pan onto the veggies... making them overly mustardy. The flavors if only a little were in the pan would of been fantastic... even hubby said he could tell the profile and if only a tad fell in then the sprouts would of been good. Another thing was it was overly spicy and I am a spiceaholic. So have a high threshold. Will make again, only using enough sauce to evenly coat the roast and then cut the red pepper flakes in half.

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