Adapted from the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook
July/August 2009
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 1 tablespoon fennel seed
- 4 branches rosemary
- 4 branches sage
- Salt and pepper
The day before, lard pork loin with garlic, making incisions into underside of roast with a small, sharp knife and inserting garlic slices. Season generously with salt and pepper. Crush fennel seeds in a mortar, and sprinkle over meat. Press rosemary and sage branches into meat. Using butcher’s twine, tie up roast, using a simple slipknot finished with a half hitch every 3 inches. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
An hour or so before cooking, remove meat from refrigerator so it can warm to room temperature. Start grill. Indirect heat is used for most of cooking, so have hot coals on only one side of grill. Sear meat above coals for a few minutes on each side, then move to other side of grill. Place grill lid’s vents over meat, and let cook for 20 minutes or so. Then turn meat so other side is facedown to the hot coals.
It should take around 40 minutes to cook—roast should reach 130 to 140 degrees on a meat thermometer. Let rest for 10 to 20 minutes before carving.
