My first cure--Lightly Cured Pork Loin

Lightly Cured Pork Loin
Weber’s Real Grilling Copyright 2005
Salt Cure:
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons prepared chili powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 boneless pork loin roast, about 1 ½ pounds, trimmed of excess fat

Glaze:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard I used Jack Daniels Southwestern mustard
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. To make the salt cure: In a small bowl, mix the salt cure ingredients and rub it all over the roast. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. To make the glaze: In a small saucepan, stir the glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook until the marmalade melts.
3. Rinse the roast under cold water, washing away all the salt and spices, and pat dry with paper towels. Allow to stand at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes before grilling. Brush the glaze all over the roast. Grill over Direct Medium heat until evenly caramelized on all sides, barely pink in the center, and to an internal temperature of 155 degrees F, 40 to 45 minutes, turning every 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into ½-inch slices. Serve warm.

Serves 4 to 6.
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I really wasn't expecting much from this recipe. How much would that short cure do? Well, it turns out quite a bit. I thought this roast was great. It was salty, but not too salty. I did leave it in the cure closer to 2 hours since I was going to try to take a nap before dinner so I decided to put the salt cure on it beforehand. That might have made it a tad bit saltier than if it had spent less than an hour in the cure.

The meat was nice and juicy too. I was out of Dijon mustard so I used a Southwestern mustard that I bought on a whim some time ago. The glaze adds flavor but it's not overpowering so the different mustard didn't make much of difference.

One nice thing about this maternity leave, I thought, was that I could finally make recipes that require a bit more prep time than I have on a work day. What the hell was I smoking? I want fast and easy recipes more than ever right now.

Question of the Day: Have you ever cured meat?