Pork Roast With Roasted Jalapeño Gravy

Published May 27, 2020

Pork Roast With Roasted Jalapeño Gravy
Melina Hammer for The New York Times
Total Time
1¼ hours
Rating
5(888)
Comments
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Eddie Hernandez, who runs Taqueria del Sol, a string of easygoing Mexican restaurants in Georgia and Tennessee, considers himself a born-again Southern boy whose food reflects a mash-up of the two cultures. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Monterrey, Mexico, where a pork roast like this would have never made it onto the table. But he came to love the roast’s role in a traditional Southern Sunday supper, and decided to give it his own Mexican twist. It has become one of the most popular specials at his restaurants. The granulated garlic and onion are essential to the flavor. The roast cooks fast in a hot oven that crisps the fat. The residual oven heat roasts the jalapeños while the meat rests. Once you make the roux, the rich gravy for the dish comes together quickly. —Kim Severson

Featured in: Eddie Hernandez Doesn’t Care if His Food Isn’t ‘Authentic’

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Roast

    • 1tablespoon salt
    • 1tablespoon ground black pepper
    • 1tablespoon granulated garlic
    • 1tablespoon granulated onion
    • 2½ to 3pounds boneless pork loin, with a good layer of fat on it

    For the Gravy

    • 3tablespoons butter
    • 4tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
    • 2jalapeños
    • 1teaspoon vegetable oil
    • 1cup half-and-half
    • 2cups pork stock or chicken stock, preferably homemade
    • 1teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

376 calories; 22 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 612 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 475 degrees. Mix together salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion. Place the pork on a rack set in a roasting pan and sprinkle the roast with the spice mixture, rubbing it lightly so it adheres to the meat.

  2. Step 2

    Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. If the fat begins to get too dark, tent with foil.

  3. Step 3

    While the roast is cooking, make a roux for the gravy by melting the butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add the flour all at once and whisk vigorously until smooth. When the mixture thins and starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking slowly, until the mixture smells nutty and toasty and is still light colored. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally, then set aside and let cool.

  4. Step 4

    When the roast is done, cover and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 450 degrees. Place the jalapeños in a small pan, brush with oil and roast for 6 minutes, or until soft. Remove the stems and some or all of the seeds and membranes, depending on how hot the peppers are and how hot you want the gravy. Dice the jalapeños.

  5. Step 5

    Place the half-and-half, stock, salt and jalapeños in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Quickly reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the roux and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking continually, until the sauce is thickened and bubbly. Stir in a little more roux if needed to reach the desired thickness and, if desired, any accumulated juices from the roast. Slice the roast, cover in gravy and serve.

Ratings

5 out of 5
888 user ratings
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Comments

I was a little skeptical about trying this since it looked so simple but it’s actually wonderful! Tender and well-seasoned, and the gravy is the perfect touch. I made the recipe mostly as described, but I did decide to roast the jalapeños in the beginning, right as I put in the pork, to save time at the end. I would add that I don’t think the suggestion by Ralph Wood would help this dish. The powdered spices helped to create a nice crust on the fat of the pork and I would not change that.

Ha, I think I'll trust the professional chef with the cookbook and the delicious restaurant's recipe.

Although I have not tried this recipe, i have used similar technique on prime beef. I have found the dried garlic and onion do not add much flavor to meat if used as recipe directs. Rubbing spices on and immediately putting it in a 475 deg oven the spices char before implanting any flavor to meat. i would rub with fresh garlic and onion and letting it rest for 3 to 4 hours before roasting. A 300 deg oven to a 145 deg internal temp results in a more moist meat still with nice crust.

Fantastic! Make sure to serve the roast with the peach salad (recipe included in the original article). It’s the perfect counterbalance to the rich gravy. Although, the gravy would make a piece of driftwood delicious…..

This was probably the best pork roast I've ever made, but I did have some issues along the way. As the recipe predicted, the top started to burn after only 10 minutes, so I tented it with foil. That of course lead to extra roasting time, about an hour in total. I like the other comment about roasting the peppers ahead of time, it did add to scrambling at the end, especially with steaming hot peppers. And I have to wonder if there was a typo with the amount of roux I'd have in the end, because it says to add 4 to 5 tablespoons to the liquid, but I only had 3 in all. The gravy still turned out very thick. Next time I'll toast the flour first, I think I lost a lot of liquid with the butter in trying to toast it once mixed.

Use this to test your smoke detectors. Cooking meat like this means that juices will be dripping on a 475 degree pan, that means smoke and lots of it. When I opened the oven to test the temperature a wave of smoke billowed out. Adding water to the pan took care of that. After the smoke cleared (thank you, and goodnight) it was a great piece of meat. I was skeptical about the gravy, but I'll use it again and not just when I make this.

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Credits

Adapted from "Turnip Greens & Tortillas: A Mexican Chef Spices Up the Southern Kitchen" by Eddie Hernandez (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018)

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