Every Thursday on the Good Food Blog we share a recipe from our archives.
Mani Niall, author of Covered in Honey: The Amazing Flavors of Varietal Honey, first shared this recipe for Rosemary, Balsamic, and Tupelo Honey Marinade with Roasted Pork Loin with us on June 12, 2004.
Keep reading for the full recipe…
Rosemary, Balsamic, and Tupelo Honey Marinade with Roasted Pork Loin
This is a great marinade or grilling sauce for ribs, chicken, and even game birds such as pheasant or quail. Mani considers it to be an all-around tasty and complementary sauce for most broiled and grilled dishes.
Makes 2 cups marinade
Marinade
3 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, diced (or 2 Tablespoons dried, crushed)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey, such as Tupelo
3/4 cup Dijon mustard, seedless
6 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/2 tsps salt
1 1/2 tsps garlic powder
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
Pork Loin
2-3 pounds pork loin, or any size suitable to your needs
1 cup red wine
Hint:
Brush a little honey over ripe pineapple slices or wedges of peach and mango, and toss them on the grill to serve alongside any summer barbecue.
To make the marinade, blend together the rosemary, cider vinegar, honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt, garlic, and pepper. Pour into a small nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The sauce will thicken and the flavors intensify. (Boiling vinegar may smell overpowering, but it will subside.) Allow the sauce to cool and then refrigerate (it will keep well for up to 3 months).
To make the pork loin, immerse pork in marinade for 12 to 24 hours. Simply slather the glaze generously over the loin on all sides, cover, and refrigerate. You may turn it occasionally, but this glaze tends to cling pretty well. When ready to cook, let the loin sit out of the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 500-F. Place the loin in a roasting pan and reserve the excess marinade and juices from the pan in which it was marinated. Roast on each side for about 10 minutes, lower the heat to 300-F, and continue baking. While the loin is roasting, put the reserved marinade and juices in a small nonreactive saucepan, along with the wine. Bring to a boil and reduce to 1/2 cup.
Roasting time will vary depending on the size of the loin, so you must rely on the internal temperature to signal its doneness-when it reaches 155-F and the juices run clear, it’s done.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the reduced sauce alongside or simply pour it over loin slices on a platter. I recommend serving the loin with a soft polenta, crumbled blue cheese, and caramelized onions with baby artichokes.