Herb Crusted Pork Loin with Mushroom Gravy

Comfort food at it’s best, this family favorite is sure to warm your heart and soul on a crisp fall evening.

You Will Need:

1. Cast Iron Skillet or Large Oven-safe Sauté Pan (with our without a handle, as long as it fits in your oven!)
2. Sharp Boning Knife
3. Microplane Zester/Grater
4. Wire Rack
5. Probe Thermometer

Ingredients

For the Pork

1. Pork Loin Roast, 3-4 lbs
2. 2 TBSP butter, very soft
3. Squirt (2-4 tablespoons) dijon mustart
4. 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced
5. 1 Tablespoon each, fresh: oregano, thyme and rosemary, finely minced (or 2 Teaspoons each tried), minced
6. 1/4 cup bread crumbs
7. 1/4 cup pistachio nuts, shelled
8. 1 small onion, quartered
9. 1 carrot, chopped into 2 inch pieces
10. 2 celery stalks, chopped into 2 inch pieces

For the Shiitake Mushroom Gravy

1. Pan drippings from pork loin
2. 2 tablespoons butter
3. 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4. 1 small shallot, finely minced
5. 8-12 ounces fresh mushrooms (I prefer shiitake for this dish, but baby bellas or anything else is fine too), stemmed, sliced
6. 1/4 cup all purpose flour
7. 1/3 cup dry Sherry
8. 2 cups Essential Everyday Stock (or 1 14.5oz can chicken broth)
9. Around 1/4 cup heavy cream
10. Kosher Salt, Balsamic (or other) vinegar, pinch sugar – as needed, to balance flavors

Prep

For the Herb Crusted Pork Loin

1. Using a sharp boning knife, trim pork loin of any excess fat or sliver skin
2. Combine garlic, thyme, rosemary, oregano, pistachios and breadcrumbs – if you want to make it easy on yourself, just buzz it all together (without mincing) in a food processor. Turn out into a cookie sheet, sheet pan, or large piece of aluminum foil
3. Slather pork loin with mustard on all sides. Roll pork loin in herb/pistachio/breadcrumb mixture until it’s completely covered, pressing occasionally to ensure mixture adheres to pork

For the Mushroom Gravy

1. Mince shallots, mushrooms and garlic; combine in a bowl and set aside
2. Separately measure out flour, sherry, stock, and cream; set aside in separate bowls/containers
3. Locate salt, sugar and vinegar for balance

Cook

For the Herb Crusted Pork Loin

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Place onions, carrots and celery into the cast iron skillet or sauté pan
3. Pour about 1/3 of the stock into the cast iron skillet or sauté pan
4. Place pork loin on wire rack, set on top of cast iron skillet or sauté pan (so that the drippings from the pork end up in the cast iron skillet or sauté pan
5. Insert probe thermometer into center of pork loin, roast pork loin until internal temperature reaches 145°F, about 60 to 90 minutes, depending on how big your pork loin is
6. Remove from oven, and allow to rest at least 15 minutes, and up to 45 minutes (the longer the better), loosely tented with foil. Don’t worry – even after an hour, it will still be nice and hot. 
7. While pork is resting, make the gravy:

For the mushroom gravy

1. Remove carrots, onions, and celery from cast iron skillet or sauté pan and discard. Set skillet on stove over medium high heat. 
2. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the cast iron skillet or sauté pan
3. Add shallots, mushrooms, and garlic mixture and stir well to coat in butter and pan drippings. Cover, and sweat, stirring occasionally, until shallots and mushrooms release their moisture, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (add a splash of stock or water if the mushrooms and shallots don’t release enough moisture to deglaze the pan).
4. Once shallots are soft and mushrooms are nicely browned, add flour
5. Stir flour to incorporate and raw flour is cooked – about 1 minute
6. Add sherry, and flambé (or just reduce until raw alcohol is cooked off, 2 minutes)
7. Add stock and bring to a simmer, continuing to scrape up whatever might be stuck to the bottom of the pan
8. Stir in heavy cream and return to a simmer.
9. Taste the gravy; what does it need? Add a pinch of salt, taste again, a splash of vinegar; taste again; a pinch of sugar… taste again, until flavors are balanced

Serve With

1. Perfect Mashed Potatoes
2. Grilled or Roasted Asparagus