Herb Crusted Pork Roast

Last night's dinner was very no-frills, so I didn't even post it. We had tilapia with basically Italian seasoning on it, cooked in a skillet. So, don't feel like you missed out on anything. :)

Tonight's dinner was a Paula Deen recipe, given to me by my friend Jen B. It was REALLY good. I'll make a confession...for a long time I didn't know there was a difference between pork tenderloin and a pork loin roast. So when a recipe would call for pork tenderloin, I'd use a pork loin roast because they're on sale all the time. And then I'd get super frustrated that it took a lot longer to cook than what the recipe said. Once I figured out a tenderloin was something different, it made things a lot easier. :)

So the only recipe I really had for pork loin roast was one for the crockpot, a cranberry pork roast. It's really good, but I was glad when Jen told me about this so I could branch out. And really, it was SO easy to do. My house still smells super yummy from it!!

Herb Crusted Pork Loin

1 (4-pound) boneless pork loin, with fat left on
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Place the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. With your fingers, massage the mixture onto the pork loin, covering all of the meat and fat.

Roast the pork for 30 minutes, fat side up, then reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and roast for an additional hour. Test for doneness using an instant-read thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F, remove the roast from the oven. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes before carving. It will continue to cook while it rests.

*****

The pork roast I bought was four pounds, but I cut it into a two pound roast and two one pound roasts (then I slice those and use them as pork chops). I forgot when I was mixing up the rub I was only doing half, so I tried to not use all of it. I cooked it at 475 for 15 minutes and then turned it down to 425, and it took about 40 minutes to get to 155 degrees.