This wonderful recipe was adapted from “Canadian Living Cooks Step By Step” by Daphna Rabinovitch. I omitted the hot sauce, but for those who can handle it, sweet and spicy is a lovely combination. I simplified the recipe and raised the oven temperature to 375F. I also raised the internal temperature of the roast to 175F. Rabinovitch suggested 160F, but at that temperature you only get medium rare beef, and never mind the tenting, you can’t be too careful with pork. With 175F internal temperature the pork was succulent and tender and most of all fully cooked. I had a much smaller roast as the one suggested, but I did not reduce the sauce and I am glad I didn’t, because the extra sauce will come handy with the leftovers.
This is a great way to prepare a roast; my taste buds must have adjusted to Canadian standards, because at first all Europeans find the food overly sweet and I was no different. Even to this day, I strive to bake with less sugar, not because I am hung up on using sugar, I simply don’t care for the overly sweet stuff. Oh but this roast was lovely! It is an ideal dish for a dinner party.
SWEET AND SPICY PORK ROAST
1.5 kg boneless single loin pork roast
salt to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup liquid honey
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
1-1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
• Trim any excess fat from the roast and place it in a dish.
• Lightly sprinkle salt on all sides and let the roast sit at room temperature for a couple of hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• In a non stick skillet heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onion and the garlic until it wilts.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar, molasses, honey, mustard, soy sauce and hot pepper sauce and bring to the boil.
• Dissolve cornstarch in 1 Tbsp of cold water and add to the sauce.
• Cook sauce for 3-4 minutes then set aside.
• Place a wire rack inside a roasting pan and pour in 1/2 cup of water.
• Transfer the roast to the wire rack. Discard the juices.
• Brush the roast with the sauce you have prepared and place it in the preheated oven. Set the timer for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, brush the roast with the sauce again. If the water evaporated replenish. The water vapour will make it sure that the roast remains succulent and the sauce will not burn. Set the timer for 30 more minutes.
• Baste again and replenish with water if needed. Place a meat thermometer in the middle of the roast and place the roast back in the oven. Again set the timer for 30 minutes. When the internal temperature reaches 175F take out the roast. At the end you would have cooked the roast for 1.5 hours and basted it with sauce twice.
• Immediately tent the roast with aluminum foil. Do not let the aluminum touch the roast; the caramelized sauce will stick to it.
• Let the roast relax for 10 minutes.
• Transfer the roast to a cutting board and pour the contents of the roasting pan into the skillet with the sauce.
• Stir to combine and bring to the boil.
• Meanwhile slice the roast and arrange it on a platter.
• Pour some of the sauce over the sliced roast and serve.
