I cooked for a bunch (14 I think in the end) of people on Friday. Sadly I forgot to take photos because I was really happy with everything for once. Plus it was family style so my usual inability to plate wasn't evident
The pork was served with Elote from the "Elote Cafe Cookbook" fire-roasted corn kernels doused with chili, lime, cojita cheese and spicy mayonnaise), roasted peppers, garlic and cherry tomatoes and a salad of shredded Iceberg lettuce with apple slices and a mint vinaigrette.
The pork itself was really simple:
I preheated the oven to about 205°C/400°F and stuck a roasting tin in to get hot.
I got 7lbs of deboned Pork loin and cut the string that bound the two parts together (the stuff I got from WholeFoods was in two parts which worked out well because it was much quicker to cook and fitted easily in my oven) then scored the sides lightly in a diamond pattern.
Then I blended together 1 tbsp rock salt, 3-4 tbsp fennel seeds and 3-4 tbsp of dried chili flakes until they were granular but not yet powdered. Then I added the peeled cloves from a whole head of garlic and the zest and juice from two medium sized oranges and whizzed the whole lot into a paste, adjusting with oil to get the consistency I wanted. I deliberately made it a little salty - mostly because I like salt but also because I wanted the fatty side to crisp up a bit (I should really check with Harold McGee on whether that's actually scientifically sound but it's based on what I do to get crackling on Roast Pork).
I rubbed the marinade all over both sides of the pork - if I'd had time I'd have like to leave it for a few hours, maybe over night, but I didn't have the luxury.
I took the roasting pan out of the oven and put the pork in, fat side down where appropriate and then stuck it back in the oven. After about 20 minutes I took it back out again and turned the pork over. The reason for this was to get a nice sear on the fat initially and then, after 20 minutes when the juices had started to come out I could turn it over so the fat got crisped up but the rest of the meat got a bit of a braise.
I could be wrong but I seem to remember it taking about 40-50 minutes in total - basically it depends on the thickness of the meat. Check the internal temperature after the first 20 minutes and then check again after about 40 minutes (or sooner if the first check showed the temperature to be near 155°C).
When it was ready I took it out, covered and rested it for about 10-15 minutes and then sliced it into thick slices. I decanted the juices from the pan, deglazed it with some white wine (cider or orange juice would work as well) then added that back into the liquid and skimmed off as much fat as possible.
There wasn't much leftover but it made an awesome sandwich the next day with the left over salad.
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