This was given to me and has remained frozen but I need the freezer space so I have a few questions:
- Should I be concerned about how long it's been frozen?
- If question 1 isn't a concern should I cook it whole or cut it down? It's around 5 pounds.
- Any basic recipes would be helpful as well as general suggestions (shouldn't brine or season overnight ?)
Possible vessels:
large cast iron skillet with high walls
large crockpot
large Dutch oven
Large glass casserole dish
Basic pots & pans
by SalamandaaaXX
16 Comments
I actually mostly buy it to portion into chops and freeze tbh.
Anyway, it’s a super lean cut that’ll dry out if you overcook, so just standard oven roast with dry rub on the outside. You can cook on a vegetable bed if you want, maybe some oranges or wine, or just stick some garlic cloves into it. Also wouldn’t hurt to do some larding or wrap in bacon just to help retain moisture. Do not trim that little bit of fat off.
If you want to brine you definitely can and I would recommend. Casserole dish would probably work best, probably lid it as well to retain moisture.
Use a ham cure on it. Then slice it into 3 small hams. Season each one and smoke them. Great for sandwiches.
I realize you asked about roasting it, but I would cut it into pork chops. This does not have the same amount of internal fat as other cuts the people typically roast. It’s perfect that it’s already frozen because it will be easier to get consistent slices while it’s still partially frozen.
I just had pan-seared pork chops last night for dinner and they were delicious. Another option with the center portions where there is only one muscle is to trim the outside fat and pound out for schnitzel. Season the meat, into seasoned flour, seasoned egg wash, seasoned panko crumbs. I put buffalo sauce on my schnitzel 🙂
edit: for schnitzel, pound it thin, of course. 1/4-inch thick, starting with chops that are about 3/4-inch thick.
Make bacon! Or char sui!
Slice 4oz pieces . Pound it thin . Season . Then standard breading procedure . Flour, egg then seasoned bread crumbs . Then fry
Double butterfly, season with citrus peel oregano parsley salt and pepper, roll up, tie, roast for 2 or 3hrs at 325F checking temp every 20m after 1hr 20m.
Looking for 140 in the middle and a crackly fat cap/skin.
Once you get the knack of brining… I brine all pork and poultry before I cook it…
https://preview.redd.it/08f6l7um9f0f1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=9212eb51acc704319efaf765e5d66af6753e36f8
They’re easy. brine overnight if you want to, if not they still turn out good. Just sear in a hot pan on the stove with whatever seasonings you like and transfer to a 350 F oven until it temps to 140 F internal. cover and let rest for 20 minutes or so and slice as thick or thin as you like. I particularly like it sliced thin on a nice potato bun with a good bbq sauce. It should be noted that this is the bare bones simplest way to do it, you can get real fancy with a pork loin if you want, but this will do the trick if you’re just trying to clear some freezer space.
Definitely brine and heavily season once you pull it from the brine. These bad boys have very little flavor and will dry out quickly if overcooked. They are cheap and a good vessel for adding pretty much any flavor you want. I like to do it with citrus garlic and herbs.
Sousvide that sucker
Set your oven to 525F. Put it in for 5 min per pound and then turn off the oven, but don’t open the door. Let it sit there until it reaches the correct internal temp (best is if you have a remote thermometer you can put in with it, otherwise I usually go about another 30-45 min or so depending on size). Then take it out and let it rest 5-10 min before cutting. Sounds crazy, but it’s how I cook all my beef and pork roasts and they come out so juicy!
I like to cut in half and turn one half into chops and then butterfly and stuff the other and roast it. Just google stuffed pork loin as there are a ton of different flavor options. Apple, spinach, bacon, and feta cheese is a good combo.
Sear it , then try a wellington type situation. 😄
Serbian pork seasoning
I usually get these and slice them up into thick cut boneless pork chops.
Crock pot w/Mojo