Pork with Vermouth and Garlic
As is the tradition in my family, I made pork roast for New Year's Day dinner last week. (Although the spread above was from our pre-Thanksgiving meal at Christian's apartment in Brooklyn. Since Stephan was traveling to India for Thanksgiving--he was working on a wedding in Jaipur--we decided to have a pre-holiday meal before he left. We opted for pork over turkey since most of us would be enjoying a traditional turkey dinner in PA on Thanksgiving Day.)
When my mother makes pork, she roasts it in the oven and does so to perfection. For some reason, I prefer making it on the stove. So the recipe below is a combination of my mom's method (jabbing holes throughout the roast and shoving chunks of garlic inside) and a stove-top technique from an old French cookbook. While I typically just serve it with a gravy from the garlicky juices at the bottom of the pot, I also made a large bowl of Tomatillo Sauce to go along with the roast above as I know how much my boys love it. I served it with mashed potatoes topped with chives (recipe tk). And in Pennsylvania, we wouldn't have a New Year's Day pork roast without sauerkraut, as well. Happy 2018!
Serves 8
Ingredients for Pork
Two 3-lb. pork loins
10-12 large peeled garlic cloves, half left whole and half cut into large, vertical chunks
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 oz. butter (or more olive oil, if you prefer not to use butter)
6 tablespoons white vermouth
1 teaspoon sugar
12 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Season pork with salt and pepper on all sides. With knife, make 1" deep holes all around meat and insert vertical garlic chunks.
Heat the oil in a large oval pot in which the roasts will fit comfortably. Add half the butter and the whole garlic cloves, and brown the meat on all sides.
Remove the meat and garlic and discard the cooking fat. Add the vermouth and sugar, and boil over high heat until slightly reduced, scraping up burned bits with a wooden spoon. Return the meat to the pot and turn int over in the liquid. Add the garlic and water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 45-60 minutes, turning the meat over twice.
When the meat is cooked, transfer it to a cutting board and let it rest while you make the gravy.
Ingredients for Gravy
Liquid from bottom of pan (at least 2 tbsps.)
1 1/2 cups stock (or wine or water)
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 water
Salt to taste
Preparation
First crush the garlic at the bottom of the pot into the liquid to get as much of the flavor as you can into the gravy. Then strain liquid into a separate pot and add stock (or wine or water). Bring to a boil.
In small bowl, combine 1/4 cup water with the flour and mix until smooth.
Stir flour mixture into the pot and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes to reduce the sauce and so the sauce thickens.
Add salt to taste.
Add a ladle of gravy over the platter of sliced pork and serve the rest along side the pork.
