Sabor Eats

Sabor for the kitchen & tea for the soul.
Sabor Eats is an experimental food blog created by Erica and Wasc, two students who love food, culture, and travelling.

Grilled Loin of Pork

Hello everyone, this is Wasc. I have been in Bolivia for the past couple of weeks to spend the holidays with my wonderful family. I have been cooking many dishes with my mom, Frida, but this is the first one we fully documented (I will work on the others to make sure they are easy to follow).

So today seemed like it was going to be a sunny day in La Paz and we decided to grill a loin of pork. If you are not an expert griller, do not fright, the recipe I will share is simple and a few concepts and tools will help you get it perfect! Everyone enjoyed the pork (including my meat-hating sister, Wara) and said it was perfectly juicy and tasty :)

First, I will tell you about direct and indirect heating on the grill. I prefer to use charcoal to cook since heat control is easier and I have convinced myself that the flavor is better (even though Nathan Myhrvold would disagree). Basically, once you have fully ignited your charcoal (I use the chimney method) you need to arrange the briquettes in a single even layer for direct heat and in two separate piles with whatever you are cooking in between for distributed heat (also called indirect grilling). We use direct heat for searing and indirect heat for cooking.

I started with a loin of pork which had the fat still on. The fat helped keep all of the delicious juices sealed in, while providing an appealing presentation when the loin was cut. I also prepared a complimentary sauce to go with the pork which everyone seemed to love (I used Bolivian dried chilis, but those can be substituted with other dried chilis). The recipe is based on tips and recommendations from many sites (Serious Eats is a great place to learn how to cook meat perfectly) including Weber’s.

Mise en place before making the sauce. Make sure you are ready before you start cooking ;)

Direct heating to sear the loin of pork (keep in mind that La Paz is 12,000 feet high and we do not get much oxygen to keep our charcoal going ;).

Using an instant read thermometer takes the guessing out of cooking meat (the finger test is very useful as well).

Final product :). Make sure you let your meat rest.

A picture of the sauce just so you know what consistency to aim for :). You can make it runnier if you’d like by simmering for a shorter time before blending it.

Greens are sooo yummy! Just put things you like together with little dressing and you’re set!

Ingredients

600 gr of loin of pork (do not forget to ask your butcher to leave the fat on).

For the marinade:

1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil.

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (also known as English sauce).

1 tsp cracked black pepper.

1 tsp chile powder.

1 tsp garlic (finely minced).

1 tsp kosher salt.

1/2 tsp ground cumin.

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (I’m sure Eriquita would like to see this doubled <3)

For the sauce:

1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil.

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion.

1 Tbs garlic (finely minced).

2 dried chilis (stemmed, seeded, and cut into thin strips).

3/4 cup red wine.

1/2 cup orange juice (please use oranges to make your juice).

1/4 cup ketchup (try to avoid the ones that have high fructose corn syrup).

2 Tbs balsamic vinegar (try to use three leaves italian BV).

Methodology

  1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
  2. Rub the mix over the loin of pork and allow them to stand for at least 45 min. to 1 hour before grilling. Ocassionally turn the loin over to ensure even marination. 
  3. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and warm the olive oil.
  4. Sautè the onions and garlic until the onions change color and soften. We call this the “sofrito” back home.
  5. Add the dried chills. Make sure you cook them 3 to 5 minutes (uncooked or undercooked chili may upset your stomach).
  6. Pour the red wine and deglaze the pan. Make sure the alcohol burns out before adding the rest of the ingredients.
  7. Add the orange juice, ketchup, and balsamic vinegar.
  8. Simmer for 5 to 10 min. and then let it cool down for 15 to 20 min.
  9. Place the mix in a blender to make it smooth.
  10. Prepare your grill for direct cooking. Keep in mind that you will switch to indirect cooking soon so have your grilling tools ready.
  11. Sear the loin of pork on all sides for about 6 min.
  12. Switch your briquette configuration for indirect cooking.
  13. Cook the loin of pork covered for about 25 minutes until the internal temperature reaches160° F. I am a fan of
  14. Take the loin of pork from the heat and let it rest covered with foil for about 5 min.
  15. Make your table look respectable while the meat rests and call in your “comensales.”