Marinated Pork (Vinho D'alhos) - Ana Patuleia Ortins

Entered for safe-keeping, adapted from Ana Patuleia Ortins, "Portuguese Home Cooking". Roast pork loin can be very dry, so this extensive marination helps to retain moisture during cooking. Use either white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar as you prefer. Note: In Portugal, they are more likely to use sweet chili peppers (massa de pimentão), not hot chili peppers; you could put some jarred marinated roasted red bell peppers in a blender to make a suitable paste. I have included directions as well for large crock pot or 6-quart or larger pressure cooker.

• Ready In: 74 hrs
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 4  lbs  pork loin roast
• 1  cup wine vinegar, may need more to cover meat
• 4  garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin (to taste)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  jamaican allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon  sweet  red pepper paste (see Recipe Description)
• 1  tablespoon coarse salt (to taste)
• 1  teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or 1  teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
• 3  sprigs fresh rosemary (optional) or 3  sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Directions

1. Place roast in a non-corrosive bowl (ceramic or glass). Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the roast. Add additional wine vinegar as needed to cover the meat.
2. Cover tightly and marinate overnight or preferably 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
3. COOK.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (if roasting) or 325 degrees F (if braising).
5. TO ROAST: reserve the marinade and place the pork in a roasting pan and cook at 350 degrees F for about 2 hours at the most, until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. Baste periodically with the marinade.
6. TO BRAISE: place the roast and the marinade in a non-corrosive roasting pan. (This can be done as part of the overnight marinating, just covering with wrap.) Place pan in preheated 325-degree-F oven and baste periodically from the pan. This will take up to 2 hours 20 minutes; the roast is done once it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. The roast should be fork tender.
7. OTHER - SLOW BRAISE: You can also braise at 300-degrees F for 3 1/2 hours.
8. OTHER - CROCK POT: You can cook it in a large crock pot for 6-8 hours on LOW.
9. OTHER - PRESSURE COOKER: Blot roast, reserve marinade. In a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat, then brown the roast on all sides. Remove roast and set aside. Pour out excess fat and deglaze pan with minimum amount of reserved marinade required per your pressure cooker manual (1 cup for most pressure cookers), scraping up brown bits of meat. Place trivet in cooker, and set roast on top. If desired, toss in 3 sprigs of rosemary or thyme. Secure lid. On high heat, bring to 1st ring (LOW pressure, 8 psi), and adjust heat to stabilize at low pressure. From moment pressure was reached, cook 35-40 minutes. Remove from heat and let pressure release naturally. Test for doneness; meat needs to reach 150 degrees. If not done, close cooker and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Remove herb sprigs, if used.
10. REST.
11. Tent roast and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Best served while still moist.