Recipe: Roast Pork

Name: Roast Pork
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 3.25 lb (1.5 kg) pork from the loin, rib or shoulder; 10.5 oz (300 g) small button mushrooms; 7 oz (200 g) shelled Paimpol beans; 3.5 oz (100 g) bacon lardons (blanched and refreshed); 2 garlic cloves, germs removed; 4 more cloves with their skin (in their skins); 8 small onions; 2 tomatoes; Thyme, bay leaf and sage; 1 dl (0.4 cup (10 cl)) dry white wine; Salt and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (14 reviews) · 🍳 6 made it

Recipe Roast Pork - Chef Patrick Asfaux — Photo: Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 30 min

Cook 120 min

Total 2h30

Servings 6 serv.

French pork production comes half from Brittany and half from all the other French provinces. Roast pork is cooked for 1 hour 15 minutes at 200 °C with a marinade of garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Paimpol beans, mushrooms sautéed with bacon and onions in their skins complete the dish. The secret: season the evening before so the aromas penetrate the meat well.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

3.25 lb (1.5 kg) pork from the loin, rib or shoulder
10.5 oz (300 g) small button mushrooms
7 oz (200 g) shelled Paimpol beans
3.5 oz (100 g) bacon lardons (blanched and refreshed)
2 garlic cloves, germs removed
4 more cloves with their skin (in their skins)
8 small onions
2 tomatoes
Thyme, bay leaf and sage
1 dl (0.4 cup (10 cl)) dry white wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

Important: season your roast pork the evening before. Peel 2 garlic cloves, remove the germs then cut small points that you will insert into small slits made with a knife (it's not essential, but it's so much better). In a plate, put a drop of oil and roll your roast in it, salt, pepper and dust with a little thyme flowers, put the bay leaf, wrap it in cling film and keep it in the fridge overnight so it absorbs all these aromas.

1 In a cast iron cocotte (like Le Creuset) melt 1.1 oz (30 g) of butter and a touch of oil. When it takes on color, add the roast, browning it on all sides.

2 Preheat the oven to 390°F (200 °C) (gas mark 7).

3 In the cocotte, add the small onions, the 4 remaining garlic cloves unpeeled, the tomatoes cut roughly into large chunks, 2 sage leaves, salt, pepper and let sweat covered gently for 7 to 8 minutes.

4 Then moisten with your dry white wine and continue cooking for another 2 minutes, then add 1 dl of water, the beans and adjust the seasoning.

5 Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes in the oven (for pork roasts, allow 50 minutes cooking time per kg).

6 While cooking, prepare your garnish. Remove the feet from the button mushrooms, wash them quickly and cut them in 2 or 3 lengthwise.

7 In a non-stick frying pan, put a little oil and butter then add your bacon and when it starts to take on color, add the button mushrooms. Salt (lightly) and pepper. This operation is very quick (two minutes) so your mushrooms stay firm.

8 Remove the pork roast from the oven and place it on a plate covered for 10 minutes so it rests and the meat relaxes.

9 Skim off some of the fat from the jus and press on the garlic cloves to blend in the pulp.

10 Put the garnish in your cocotte and bring to a boil on the stove. In a long dish, arrange your pork roast slices and pour the jus and garnish over them harmoniously, serve the rest in a sauceboat.

Many accompaniments work for this lovely rustic roast pork: lentils with bacon, sautéed mushrooms, good mashed potatoes, pan-fried potatoes, fresh salsify (a treat), caramelized new carrots (Créances if you can find them), braised Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, or even more exotic combinations like pan-fried apple slices or bacon-wrapped banana pieces.

A chef's advice

You can also, if you like, open your raw pork roast three-quarters of the way through the thickness and put 100 g of snail butter in it then tie it back up and make this recipe normally afterwards.

And if you like it a bit more exotic, drizzle a little honey over it halfway through cooking and serve as a garnish a pan of apple slices seasoned with curry.

You can also cook it at low temperature. In that case, make the recipe exactly as written and in the evening, put it in the oven at 90 °C and program it for 6 hours of cooking, leaving the roast in the oven to cool down inside.

As for wine, you can go for a light red, a Beaujolais village or a simple Côtes du Rhône. Avoid wines that are too powerful, you would struggle against the bacon and the jus. A dry white also works very well, a Sancerre or a Chablis that would hold the structure.

For accompaniment, the cooking jus becomes your sauce, you skim it a bit and that's it. The garlic cloves in their skins, you press them with a fork to extract the pulp and incorporate it into the jus. Button mushrooms sautéed with bacon, it's quick, two minutes max. The meat rests for 10 minutes before serving, it's important, it becomes tender and juicy.

Frequently asked questions

Why season the roast the night before and how to properly insert the garlic?

The meat absorbs the flavors over 12 hours in the fridge. For the garlic, peel two cloves, cut them into thin points and make small slits in the meat with a knife. Push the points inside. It penetrates better than if the garlic stays on the surface.

Can you replace Paimpol beans with red or white beans?

Yes, but it won't be the same. Red beans are more floury, white ones more neutral. Paimpol beans have a light flavor and perfect texture. If you can't find them, prefer Vendée white beans or coco beans, less disappointment.

How long does cooked roast keep in the fridge and can you freeze it?

Three days well covered in the fridge. For freezing, let it cool, wrap the whole thing (meat plus jus) well and freeze for max 2 months. Thaw 24 hours in the fridge before reheating gently.