Carmela Soprano's Roast Pork Loin

Ah... Dollar Days at Sobeys.  

Gotta love 'em.  

Last week I picked up a pork shoulder picnic roast, hock off, that was going for a buck a pound.

I admit the meat was in big packages, way more than Paul and I could finish in a sitting.  I picked up the smallest, weighing in at 7.69 pounds.

It wasn't all meat.

There was some bone, fat and rind on that baby.

No problem.  Like I said about 2 months ago, even though I've finished and returned Julia Powell's latest book Cleaving, I'm still under the influence of her obsession.

And I'd learned a bit from Julia.

It wasn't that hard to cut off the skin and fat (14 ounces) and remove the bone (19 ounces).  I cut up the meat into 3 roasts, popped 2 into the freezer and flipped through Carmela's Entertaining with The Sopranos.

There, in the The Final Celebration chapter, was an easy recipe for Roast Pork Loin.

But, you might say, I have a shoulder picnic roast.  

No problem.

Roasting requires a bit of fat in the meat.

That roast had enough to keep it juicy.

Carmela chops 4 large cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, places the mixture in a bowl and adds salt and pepper to taste.

Then she goes Carmela-esque.  

She makes little slits in the surface of a 4 pound roast and stuffs a little of the mixture in each slit.  Then she rubs the roast with olive oil, pops it into a 325º F oven and roasts for 1 1/2 hours, or until the center of the meat reaches 150º F.

Remember that the meat keeps cooking after it's removed from the oven.  Just cover it with foil to keep it warm and let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve hot.

By the time I got to making dinner, I was tired of cutting meat.  I wasn't about to make it die a death of a 1000 cuts.  So I just rubbed the roast with oil first, then I sprinkled the spices over it.

I didn't get any complaints or visits from Tony and the boys.  

Would I make the Roast Pork Loin - or Shoulder - again?

Sure, without the little cuts and inserts.

And I wouldn't wait for someone to die to do it.

And what would Ma do?

Ah... what wouldn't she do?  

Enough for another post.

Another recipe down.  Thirty-seven more to go.