Meal No. 532: Sirloin Pork Roast

Mostly because I'd never cooked one before, the sirloin pork roast in the fresh meat section at the Harris Teeter caught my eye and I thought I'd give it a try. It's not very expensive but it will feed four. Tonight I managed to take my maiden voyage with this meat with the good fortune of a darned good recipe for it.

It started with a smashed garlic rub, supplemented with dried rosemary, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Browning of all sides in the skillet upped the flavor and gave the vegetables something to sauté in. I deviated from the recipe in my vegetable selection, since I do not like celery and since I had other things on hand. I used baby carrots, wedges of onion, garlic, purple sweet potato, cremini mushrooms, and regular sweet potato, all browned and softened and finished in red wine. Then the pork goes back on top and the whole thing goes in the oven, roasting for two hours at 250°F. (The sirloin roast is pretty lean and can be tough or chewy if you're not careful.)

When it's done, you pull out some of those vegetables, bring 'em to a soft boil in more red wine, and then puree it to make a sauce to put on the slices of pork.

I love having a rice cooker and sometimes forget that it's also a great vegetable steamer. I added broccoli florets to the meal using that steamer feature. The best item on the menu, though, were the cat head biscuits, that came out as perfect as I've ever made biscuits.

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"Sirloin Pork Roast," by Kevin Weeks. From Seriously Good Food That Demands Attention.

"Cat Head Biscuits," by Cali Rich. In Cook's Country, April/May 2010, p. 12-13.