Best Bay Leaf Crusted Pork Roast Recipes

PORK ROAST WITH THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• With a small knife, pierce top of roast. Force garlic slices into the cuts. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper. Place bay leaves in the bottom of the roasting pan, and set roast on top of bay leaves, fat side up. Mix vinegar and thyme in a small bowl, and pour over the top of the roast.
• Bake in the preheated oven 3 hours, or until an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) is reached. Using a baster or spoon, baste the drippings over the roast frequently while it is cooking. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes when done before slicing.

CORIANDER PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Combine 2 tablespoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, the coriander, red pepper flakes, sage, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic in a food processor and pulse to make a paste. Pierce the pork all over with a paring knife, then rub with the spice paste. Tie the roast with kitchen twine so it keeps its shape.
• Transfer the meat to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon along with the chicken broth, potatoes and rutabaga. Cover and cook on high, 7 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the meat to a cutting board; cover with foil and set aside. Skim off the fat from the cooking liquid. Add the tomatoes, sugar and the juice of the remaining orange and lemon to the slow cooker; cover and cook on high, 30 more minutes. Stir in the mint just before serving.
• Remove the twine from the pork and slice. Serve with the vegetables and cooking liquid.

MUSTARD-AND-HERB-CRUSTED PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Brine the pork: Combine 4 cups water, the salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns and cloves in a large pot or wide Dutch oven (large enough to hold the pork). Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add 8 cups ice cubes; stir occasionally until the brine is cooled.
• Make small deep cuts, about 2 inches apart, all over the pork and between the ribs using the tip of a paring knife. Add the pork to the pot and submerge in the brine; add more cold water if needed to completely submerge. Refrigerate overnight.
• Set a rack in a roasting pan and put the pan on the lowest oven rack; preheat to 325 degrees F. Remove the pork from the brine, pat dry and set aside to bring to room temperature. Remove 3 cups brine (along with the spices) to a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove the hot roasting pan from the oven and carefully stand up the pork on the rack with the chine bone down. Add the hot brine to the bottom of the pan. Roast until the fat is mostly rendered, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the crust: Pulse the panko, butter, scallion, parsley, thyme and juniper berries in a food processor until the herbs are coarsely chopped and the mixture is combined.
• Remove the pork from the oven and reposition so it is meat-side up; brush the top and sides with the mustard, then sprinkle with the panko mixture, patting to adhere. Return to the oven and roast 50 more minutes.
• Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue roasting until the crust is crisp and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F, about 20 more minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and let rest 20 minutes before carving.

HERBED RIB ROAST

Steps:

• Prepare roast:
• Trim all but a thin layer of fat from roast. Grind peppercorns and bay leaves with salt to a powder in an electric coffee/spice grinder, then transfer to a mortar. Add garlic, thyme, and rosemary, then pound to a smooth paste with pestle. Stir in oil. Rub paste all over roast. Transfer roast to a rack set in a small flameproof roasting pan. Marinate, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.
• Cook roast:
• Let roast stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Roast beef in middle of oven 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and roast beef until a thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 110°F, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours more. Transfer beef to a large platter and let stand, uncovered, 25 minutes. (Meat will continue to cook, reaching about 130°F for medium-rare.)
• Make jus:
• Skim fat from pan juices. Add broth, rosemary, thyme, and garlic and deglaze pan by simmering on top of stove over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Transfer to a small saucepan and add any juices that have collected on platter. Gently simmer 10 minutes. Skim fat and season jus with salt and pepper.
• Put slices from roast and serve with jus.

PRIME RIB AND OVEN-ROASTED POTATOES WITH BAY LEAVES AND SAGE

Steps:

• Stir together bay leaves, sage, oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and orange zest in a small bowl. Season with pepper. Rub herb mixture all over roast. Refrigerate roast, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Submerge potatoes in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil; season with salt. Cook 5 minutes. Drain. Score lines lengthwise in potatoes with the tines of a fork.
• Preheat oven to 450°. Transfer roast, fat-side up, to a roasting pan; let come to room temperature, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Roast 15 minutes. Add potatoes; roast 15 minutes more. Reduce temperature to 350° and continue roasting, turning potatoes after 30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat (not touching bone) registers 115° for rare, about 1 hour. Let stand 20 minutes (temperature should rise to 125°), then slice. Garnish with bay leaves and sage; serve.

LOIN OF PORK WITH BAY LEAVES

Steps:

• In a small bowl mix the olive oil, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and crumbled bay leaves and rub the mixture all over the meat. Put the pork on a large dish or in a large plastic bag and cover the dish or tie up the bag and leave in the refrigerator if you've got steeping time; otherwise - if you're about to start cooking it - just leave it out.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with the onion. Strew over the onion 10 whole bay leaves. Place the pork, including its marinade, on top and the bones all around, if they fit and if you've got them. Roast in the oven for about 1 3/4 hours or to an internal temperature of 150 to 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, basting regularly.
• Remove the pork, scraping burnt bits off, to a plate or carving board and let it sit. On the stove at moderate heat, pour the wine and 1/2 cup boiling water over the bones, bay, garlic, and onion. Let it bubble up and reduce by about a third, and then remove the bones gingerly and strain the liquid contents into a saucepan. Heat, correct the seasoning, and add liquid as you like to make a good, thin, not-quite gravy.
• Carve the loin, put the slices on a big warmed plate, sprinkle with salt, and pour over a little of the juice-gravy, then tent with foil and leave in the turned-off oven while you eat the starter. It is a bit prinky, I know, but it will look fabulous if, when you take it out, you arrange, Napoleonically, some more bay leaves around the edges of the dish with the bay-scented pork.

ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PRUNES AND BAY LEAVES

Steps:

• In a bowl, pour boiling water over the bay leaves and prunes; set aside for 15 minutes; preheat oven to 400°.
• Cut a 1" slit along the length of the roast, leaving 1" uncut on each end; drain bay leaves and prunes and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place prunes tightly in bottom of slit; crumble 1 of the bay leaves and sprinkle it over the prunes; roll the roast and tie it tightly with string every 1".
• Season with salt and pepper; place the remaining bay leaves under the string; coat roasting pan with cooking spray, roast to desired doneness or 30-35 minutes; rest the roast 5-10 minutes before slicing, removing bay leaves.

FRUIT-PECAN PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Place roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onions in 1 tablespoon of butter for 1 minute. Add orange juice and bay leaf; cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Add the cranberry sauce, broth, pecans and vinegar; cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in the salt, pepper, sugar and remaining butter until butter is melted. Discard bay leaf. , Remove 1/4 cup sauce and stir in preserves; spoon over roast. Set remaining sauce aside. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 145°. Let meat stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved sauce.