Blue Viola Farm: Quick sage pork roast

A few days ago I took a couple of medium-sized pork roasts out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge. After one day of thawing, I put them into a ziploc with some raw apple cider vinegar (2-3 glugs each) and set them in a bowl to continue thawing in the fridge. I turned them once or twice a day to get the vinegar all over the roasts.

Tonight was a long work night for the hubster and I. We got home late and tired and still had animal chores to do, dishes, laundry, and phone calls/emails to return. We decided to divide and conquer the meal issue.

I put the roasts in the oven while he went out and watered the critters and brought in firewood for the night. Here is what we ended up with:

Yup, I wanted to cook it fast so I took a chance. Both roasts had a nice thick layer of fat on one side, so I figured it was safe to oven roast them, quick and dry, and still have a chance at moist, tender meat. Boy-oh-boy, was this moist and tender! Don't let the charred appearance fool you. That crust was the best part. Or was it the meat? Or the pan drippings? Oh, my.

I made a quick rub....or was it a sprinkle?....with a handful of home made sea salt (any coarse salt would do....coarse Celtic salt would be amazing), a handful of dried sage rubbed between the palms until fuzzy-powdered (you gardeners know what I mean, others may substitute 2-4 Tbsp of rubbed sage, then you put it on your calendar to buy some sage seeds or a few sage plants for your garden this year!), black pepper (2 Tbsp), and garlic powder (2 Tbsp, yes, two.) Mix well, then sprinkle over all sides of the drained roast, pressing it onto the fatty layer. Set into an appropriately sized roasting pan of some sort....anything will do, but it has to be deep enough to catch all the drippings.

Place it in the center of a preheated 425 F oven and set the timer for an hour and a half. Then go do your chores. Meanwhile, have hubby fry up some salt pork in a cast iron skillet and throw in a pound of green beans. Eat the beans to hold you over until the roasts are done, meanwhile, work your way through the above tasks....oh, add in a couple of loads of laundry to the list.

When the timer goes off, take the roast out and stick it with a meat thermometer (run right out and get one if you don't have one yet) taking care not to hit the bone, yet get into the deepest part of the meat. You want an internal temperature of about 170 F or so. I put my roasts back in for 20 more minutes, turning the oven down to 350 F as they were almost done.

Carve off a slice to double check doneness, sneaking a piece of that delectable crust when no one is looking.

The best way to enjoy the most flavorful part, the pan drippings, is to cut your meat up into bite-size chunks and spoon some of that lovely fat and browned bits over the meat. Use plenty, it will absorb it nicely and be so moist and wonderful! Sprinkle with a bit more good sea salt (Celtic, Redmond, Himalayan, homemade, etc.). Remember, in order for your body to get the goodness out of the meat, you must eat it with the fat and some salt. Thank goodness!