Juniper Berry & Peppercorn Rubbed Pork Loin Recipe

When my best friend/cousin and I were both single and had more time on our hands we use to get together at his place on weekends to try to cook new things... Truth be told we use to look at thisiswhyyourfat.com for inspiration. Our best experiment was a bacon wrapped meatloaf, it was the best I have ever had. I am still kicking myself 5 years later for not writing down what we used and how much for that meatloaf. Anyway, we decided that we needed to start that up again so he stopped by and we made a juniper berry peppercorn pork loin. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I made garlic fries and steamed cabbage to go with... and had maybe too much Guinness!

If you are in So Cali you can buy juniper berries from Penzey's Spices in Santa Monica or Torrance, I know they are sometimes very hard to find.

For the juniper rub:

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt 

1 1/2 tablespoons juniper berries*

 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

 2 1/2- to 3-pound boneless pork loin

DIRECTIONS

For the juniper rub:

Place the salt in a small bowl. Using a mortar and pestle or a mallet, crush the juniper berries and peppercorns. Add to the salt. Crumble the bay leaves and add them, along with the garlic, to the bowl. Mix everything well. 

Press the salt mixture evenly over the entire surface of the pork loin. Place in a shallow pan, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the pork loin in the pot and brown it on all sides, approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove the pork loin from the pot.
Bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Remove to a cutting board and allow to rest, covered for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the roast, arrange on a serving platter and serve. 

 Ours turned out pretty well.

 but a little too salty...

because my lovely cousin who likes very salty food decided to add a little extra salt while he was mixing everything.

Thanks for looking, let me know if you give it a try and how it turns out!

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