Brined and Grilled Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

This week has definitely been one for the record books.

Thank you, thank you for all of your amazing support of—and eyeballs on—the launch of the Summer 2012 issue of FoodieCrush magazine. Your comments through the blog, on Twitter and Facebook reinforce my belief that there IS an audience that loves food bloggers, their recipes and photography and you too want to know more about these talents beyond their blogs.

Please don’t stop learning about these bloggers after you click close on the magazine. Visit their blogs and let them know you’re there with a simple comment, a wave or a shout and let them know you like them and their work.

One of the articles I was most excited to share is the Boys of Summer feature, featuring some of the best boy bloggers on the web aka Verses From My Kitchen, The Sophisticated Gourmet, SippitySup, Closet Cooking, A Thought for Food and Eat the Love, to give them some man-love-food props and strut their boy food stuff. I keep thinking they would make an amazing boy band, I’d be a groupie for sure.

There are so many amazing food bloggers on the www. I swear I have enough content to publish a new issue every week. Hey, that might be something to aspire to right?

So getting another issue of FoodieCrush out the door. Whew. That was a big deal.

And another big deal happened for me too, something some of you may have seen a mention of on Twitter or Facebook.

I kinda quit my job.

Like my job working for someone else. Like I’m now my own boss and I couldn’t be more thrilled or invigorated and I have all of you to thank for it.

But we’ll chat more about that next week, after I’ve had a celebratory glass or 27 of wine, vacuumed up the neglected 5” of dog hair from my office and soaked up some sun at the pool with my Smudge.

Today I’m off to the Evo Conference and a weekend at Canyons Resort in Park City. I am so looking forward to spending time with some great foodie bloggers—and looking forward to meeting more—taking photo classes from Diane and Todd of White On Rice and Jaden of Steamy Kitchen and taking pics on my iPhone of the food I’m eating, the bloggers I’m stalking and the random awesome shoes I’m coveting.

I’ll be sharing via Instagram and Twitter and will be your roving virtual evo attendee if you’d like to follow me there. Or check out the hastag #evoconf on Twitter to see what others are tweeting and eating.

But until then, let’s talk about pork.

Pork, pork, pork.

Pork is probably the animal protein that most often makes it onto my plate, yes even more than chicken but definitely not more than shrimp. But then shrimp aren’t animals so I think we’re okay.

But pork has a bit of a problem. It tends to get dry, and if you cook it too long its turns the corner from decadent to dehydrated faster than a dog escaping through an open front door. Oh wait, that’s just my blasphemous pups.

But I found the secret. Brining.

An overnight stay in a food storage bag filled with salty, spiced up water makes pork more juicy than the details of Katie and Tom’s divorce settlement.

And if you didn’t know, the USDA has dropped the internal temperature for safe eating to 145 degrees internal. Looks like everyone was thinking it was getting a little dry.

The Balsamic Rosemary Chile Glaze adds a touch of sweetness and a hit of spice, the perfect topper for the loin. Watch the glaze carefully during the initial boil, balsamic vinegar in the reduction phase can burn quickly if it’s feeling abandoned.

5 from 1 vote

Grilled Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

Ingredients

Pork Loin Roast

4-5 pound pork loin roast sometimes called pork sirloin roast. (This is a bigger cut than the tenderloin.) * Do not cut fat cap off of the roast. The fat cap gives the roast juice and flavor.
6 cups water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 bay leaf
8 garlic cloves smashed
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
6-8 sprigs Italian parsley stems and leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme stems and leaves
4 sprigs fresh rosemary stems and leaves
4 sprigs fresh sage stems and leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
freshly ground pepper

Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

makes 1 cup
2 cups balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
2 sprigs rosemary
1 teaspoon chili paste
2/3 cup raspberries
1/2 cup butter 1 stick

Instructions

Set pork loin aside. In a large bowl or 6 quart measuring cup combine remaining ingredients and stir to combine. (I don’t boil the ingredients as suggested by Grilling Companion and it still comes out delicious.)
Add pork loin and brine to a large Ziplock freezer bag and seal. Place bag in a large mixing bowl to catch any overflow if freezer bag opens or leaks during refrigeration period. Refrigerate for at least 12 to 24 hours.
Prepare grill to high heat. Remove pork from refrigerator for about an hour and bring to room temperature. Remove pork from brine, but do not discard garlic, rosemary or parsely sprigs. Pat pork roast with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
With a sharp knife make 1/2” deep incisions in the pork about every 2 inches. Stuff garlic pieces and herbs into incisions on both sides of roast. Rub roast with olive oil and ground pepper.
Sear pork on grill, 2-3 minutes on all sides until browned with grill marks. If using a gas grill, turn one side of grill to low bringing the internal temperature of the grill to about 300 degrees. Move roast to the non-heat side, with fat cap side of pork on top. Close lid and cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until internal temperature of roast is 145 degrees. Turn roast every 20 minutes or so to ensure even browning.
During last half hour of cooking, start Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze (directions below.)
Remove roast from grill, cover with tin foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice in thin slices, top with glaze and savor the juiciness.

For the Glaze

In a saucepan bring balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, orange juice, rosemary and chili paste to a low boil, reduce temperature and simmer for 20-30 minutes until sauce thickens (you can tell if its thick enough if glaze covers back of a spoon) and reduces by half. Add raspberries and cook for another 5-10 minutes until raspberries become soft and break down when mashed with a spoon.
Add butter and stir to thicken. Remove from heat and serve over slices of pork.

Notes

brine adapted from Grilling Companion [http://www.grillingcompanion.com/pork-loin-roast-on-grill/]

Nutrition

Serving: 10g

Have a great weekend everyone. Please take a minute to gaze through the summer issue of FoodieCrush mag and check out all the awesome bloggers. If you like it, please share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or good old fashioned word of mouth. Next week is a brand new life for me and you will be my #1 focus. Can’t wait to share more blog love with you then.

Here’s to the www that brings us all toghether.

XOXOX H

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