Semi-Cured Grilled Pork Loin Glazed in Cane Syrup and Orange Juice

by Amy McDaniel, Posted Jan 2nd 2009 @ 3:04PM

Down South, New Year's Day means greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and pork. Eating the greens and peas augurs well for the New Year, according to Southern superstition, as Marisa explained last year. The cornbread and pork? Those just happen to taste divine with the lucky dishes.

This year, my family opted for a pork loin roast. Instead of roasting it, though, we fired up the grill. Using a recipe from Weber's Real Grilling by Jamie Purviance as a model, I first rubbed a simple dry rub all over the roast and let it cure in the fridge for a few hours.

Then came the glaze. I was eager to use a bottle of small-batch cane syrup produced by and named for a man named Robert E. Long who used to work with my grandfather. He makes and sells it in a tiny northern Florida town called--no joke--Two Egg. The liquor of the syrup is the clearest amber, and I had a feeling it would caramelize beautifully on the pork. I was right. The recipe, and a picture of the syrup bottle, follow the jump.

Semi-Cured Grilled Pork Loin Glazed in Cane Syrup and Orange Juice
Serves 8

1 4-5 lb. bone-in center-cut pork loin roast

For the cure:
5 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons cane syrup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice

Rinse roast and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix cure ingredients. Sprinkle cure liberally on all sides of roast. Wrap roast in foil and refrigerate for one to two hours.

Rinse roast under cold water, removing all the curing spices. Pat dry with paper towels and let sit for 20 minutes to bring closer to room temperature. To prepare glaze, heat all ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring, until simmering. Remove from heat and brush glaze on all sides of roast.

Grill over medium heat (350 degrees) until outside of roast is caramelized, about an hour to an hour and a half. Lower heat to about 200 degrees and let roast smoke until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees, another hour to hour and a half. Remove roast from grill and let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes and then carve into serving portions.

Filed Under: Ingredients, Holidays
Tags: new year, new years, NewYear, pork, roast pork, RoastPork

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-02-2009 @6:28PM Kat Kinsman said... Oh holy heck, does that look delicious! I have a few sugar canes in my kitchen, and have been trying to figure out what to do with them. Is the syrup as simple as boiling them down?
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1-02-2009 @6:32PM Kat Kinsman said... Well - apparently it's a LOT more complicated than that: http://www.chewingcane.com/make_cane_syrup.html
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2-19-2009 @3:40PM The Duo Dishes said... Oh yum.
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3-27-2009 @1:32PM alisa said... hi there
I am trying to reach Mr. Long as I have been reading about his syrup and am working on a project on Florida producers, do you happen to know how to reach him? I have the same two numbers from the bottle but he never picks up! Thank you!
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