Spiker

I'm having my new girlfriend nad her parents over this weekend and plan on making a pork roast. I've never done this before and have a feeling I'm going to screw it up. I'd like to make it with roasted potatoes and carrots.

I'm hoping someone can help me out! I have a slow cooker but I would rather do it in the oven so it browns and looks more appealing.

My questions are:

1. How long do I cook it for and at wht temperature? I do have a meat thermometer?

2. Do I ad water to the roating pan? Does it go fat side up or down?

3. What are thbest potatoes for roasting and how do I get them and the carrots nice and brown? Do they go in the same time as the roast?

4. What do I do for gravy? I'm scared to make it as I've never done it before. Should I use a canned chicken gravy?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Chingal0

1. Set the oven for like 475F and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to like 350F and Cook it until it is done. Take the roast to an internal temp of about 145F and when it hits that, take it out of the oven and let it rest. It will carry over to about ~155F which is perfect. (cooking at 475F will help brown the outside of the roast)

2. I would probably put some water in the pan just so the juices don't get all black and shit, and the drippings can double for gravy unless they are disgusting.

3. Yukon Gold potatoes are a good all-around potato, as are new potatoes (or red). If you are going to put them into the roasting pan with the pork, I'd probably put them in about 45minutes to an hour before the roast is done.

4. If the water/juice mixture is not nasty, you can use that as gravy. A cornstarch slurry works to thicken, if you use that, cook the gravy to a light boil and it will thicken quickly. Season with whatever, salt and pepper works.

Remember to temp the roast at the thickest part, and there are other things you can do with the potatoes rather then cooking with the roast. You can roast them seperately with herbage, crush them with horseradish, mash them with garlic and rosemary, make an au gratain.. anything you want, they will all work well.

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splck

It's too bad you don't have more time. It would be good to have a trial run with some of your buds so you know what to expect.

Keep the roast fat side up. It takes aprox 20 min per pound give or take. Scoring the fat before you cook looks nice when done. Try and keep your veggies roughly the same size and maybe add some chunks of onion in with them.

I suck at making gravy, so I won't comment on that aspect.

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nice line eh?

castex

Above all, don't undercook it. Any pink in the joint could spell serious trouble for your relationship!

splck

As long as you reach an inside temp of 140 you'll be fine. Trichinosis is very rare, but it's still good to understand it.

http://www.cbbqa.com/articles/Food-S...ichinosis.html

Oh ya, there is nothing wrong with pink pork, as long as you reach 140 degrees. Dried up, over cooked pork is not very nice either.

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nice line eh?

Chingal0

splck beat me to it.. It is safe to eat pork that has a little pink inside, altho most people freak out about it.

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hotdogg

I cook pork roast at a lower temp(325-350) I always buy the boneless pork roast which comes in the 8-9 lb range. I usually cut in half and season it well...Pork today is way too lean to overcook...I pull it out of the oven with a pink center and let it rest for 10 minutes. (cooking time about an hour and a half)

Also good to stuff with fontina and sauteed spinach or dried fruit like appricots and prunes.

castex

*Stands corrected, but not about to try it*

the_marq

Why does everyone seem so afraid of gravy?

With an average sized roast you'll need about 1/4 to a half cup of flour. Disolve the flour into about half as much warm water to make a pasty goo. Stir the pasty goo into your pork drippin's over a low heat and bobs-your-uncle...you got gravy son.

I do the samething with beef (unless I BBQ it).

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#3 in a series

WarWagon

I love letting the potatoes cook in the juices that come out of the roast, and I spoon the juices over the potatoes once or twice during cooking. I usually toss the veggies (and occasionally the roast) under the broiler for a few just at the very end, gives everythings a nice little crisp to compliment a nice juicy cut of meat.

brianna

you might also consider a spice rub or a herb paste for your roast -- it'll give it tons of flavor -- just pick some fresh herbs (i like rosemary and thyme) and throw in a food processor with a little olive oil (just enough to make a paste) and a couple of cloves of garlic. You can then either rub the entire roast with the paste or you can cut a few incisions (About 1-2 inches deep) into the roast and fill each with the paste. This will add moister and flavor to the roast and the gravy.

One of the biggest mistakes with pork roast is ending up with a roast that is too dry -- you can best avoid this by cooking to the correct temperature and then removing the rest and letting it rest -- the meat will continue cooking while it rests! If you're really worried about your meat being dry you can also try cooking the roast in a bag... this will keep it moist almost no matter what!

Francis

you can also poke some pockets in the pork roast and insert some cajun seasoning and pieces of garlic cloves.....