Herb Marinated Pork Loin

About two weeks ago, hubby and I adopted two adorable kittens.  My sister really wanted to meet her 'neices,' and I'd been wanting to cook dinner for her and her husband, and my dad has been missing my nephew, so we had them over for dinner. I knew immediately that I wanted to make them the awesome macaroni and cheese we had not too long ago, and I wanted to make brussels sprouts for my brother-in-law.  I thought a pork loin roast would be great with those, so I searched TasteSpotting and found Ina Garten's recipe for herb-marinated pork loin at Food 4 Wibowo. 

Overall, this was great.  The herb marinade was well balanced and helped keep the meat moist.  I do take issue with the cook time; I am not okay with really pink pork.  It took so long that I ended up serving it still a little pink because my sister and her husband needed to get the baby home.  So double or triple the cooking time.

Herb-Marinated Pork Loin

(Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, "What Friends are For")

• 3 lb boneless pork loin (or tenderloin)
• 2 lemons, zest grated
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from the 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine zest, juice, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a sturdy 1 gallon resealable plastic bag.

Add the pork loins and turn to coat with the marinade.  Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Marinate the pork for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Remove the pork loin from the marinade and discard the marinade, but leave the herbs that cling to the meat.  Sprinkle the pork loins generously with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan over medium high heat.  Sear the pork loins on all sides until golden brown (approximately 3 minutes on each side). Place the pan in the oven and roast the loins for approximately 15 minutes until the meat registers 137F at the thickest part. [I would cook much longer.]

Transfer the loin to a platter and cover tightly with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Carve in 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices.  The thickest part will be quite pink and the thinnest park will be well down.

Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, or at room temperature with the juices that collect in the platter.