top loin roast with pancetta and asparagus

On Monday we introduced you to the major cuts of loin.

This afternoon, we roasted up a top loin roast, which was plenty of meat for $5. Remember that the top loin is closer to the shoulder than the center loin cut, so it’s much leaner, a little less juicy. However, if you cook it correctly, this can be a succulent piece of meat. And for that, it’s an excellent bargain these days.

In fact, we started thinking about cooking the top loin roast after reading this piece in The New York Times called “It May Be Cheap, But It’s Also Tasty.” These days, we’re all looking for a bargain, without sacrificing quality. The top loin roast proved to be a new one for us.

The recipe is here, and you can cook it just as it was written. We don’t have spring onions in Seattle yet, so we used regular yellow onions. And instead of cooking the roast on low heat on the stove, Danny popped it into the oven at 350°, for about 40 minutes. (And while the standard literature says that you should cook pork to 160° before eating it, he suggests watching it closely and taking it to 155° instead. After all, you don’t want to over-cook the pork.)

Succulent yet crusted with onions and pancetta, this pork was such a lovely lunch today. The asparagus was crisp. The juices made everything taste better. And we still have enough pork leftover for sandwiches tomorrow.

Not a bad deal.