Roast Pork Loin Recipe
Published September 29, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This perfect roast pork loin recipe is basted in herb butter and finished with a mustard cherry sauce for the ultimate meal. You will be blown away by the rich flavors in this pork recipe.
There is nothing better than tender, juicy, delicious, cooked pork, and the best part is that it’s still decently affordable. If you feel the same way, please try my Southern Fried Pork Chops or Breaded Pork Chops.
Roasted Pork Loin
Roast pork loin is a simple dish where a large pork loin weighing 2 pounds or more is roasted until the desired internal temperature is achieved. A pork loin is a long wide cut that is between the back and ribs. It can be boneless or bone-in. When slicing the loin into individual cuts, it will render pork chops.
There are many ways to prepare a pork loin, and roasting them is a great easy way to do so. These procedures of dry brining and basting in herb butter will render a flavorful, juicy, tender pork loin every single time.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pork – You will use a boneless pork loin for this recipe.
- Herbs – I used a combination of fresh rosemary and thyme, which is used for the basting butter.
- Onions – Shallots and garlic are used for the butter and sauce. You can substitute the shallot for a red, white, yellow, or sweet onion.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking and baking so that I control the salt content.
- Mustard – You will need whole-grain mustard for this recipe. I like the brand Maille.
- Cherries – Use dried tart cherries. You can try and use pitted fresh cherries.
- Stock – You will need a good beef stock for the sauce.
How to Make a Roasted Pork Loin
Start by trussing the pork loin. See the video below on how to do this.
Place the trussed pork loin on a sheet tray with a rack and generously season it on all sides with salt and pepper. Put the pork on the rack in the refrigerator uncovered for 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
Make the herb butter by whipping the softened unsalted butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy. Turn the speed to low and add in the garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper until combined. Set it aside.
In a large sauté pan with olive oil, heat it over high heat until it begins to smoke. Place the pork into the pan, fat cap side down, turn the heat down to medium, and sear for 3-4 minutes or until well browned.
Give the pork a quarter turn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until well browned. Repeat the process on the direct other side until well browned. Turn the pork to seared fat cap side up, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 1 minute.
Add in 3 tablespoons of the herb butter.
Baste the pork with a large spoon for 3 to 4 minutes.
Place the pork in the oven at 300° and cook for 32-35 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 130° to 135°.
Set the pork on a plate or cutting board and rest for 15 minutes.
Drain half the fat from the pan and return the pan to a burner over medium heat. Stir in the shallot and cook sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
Optionally deglaze with red wine and cook until only 2 to 3 tablespoons remain.
Deglaze with the beef stock and cook over high heat for 2-4 minutes or until the amount of liquid is reduced by 2/3.
Stir in the mustard, dried cherries, herb butter, salt, and pepper.
Slice the pork and serve with the sauce.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: While this is meant to be eaten as soon as it comes out of the oven and is sliced, you can make this 30 minutes ahead of time while keeping it warm in an oven at 165°. You can only do this if you prefer the pork loin to be well done internally.
How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This will freeze covered for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for one day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Please note that reheating pork will cause it to overcook immediately. The best way to heat it is in a pan or a sheet tray lined with parchment paper in the oven at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until warm. Heat the sauce separately in a small saucepot over low heat until warm.
Chef Notes + Tips
- It’s important to rest this pork, or any protein, after cooking to allow for the juices to soak back into it, making it more flavorful.
- If the herbs and spices start to burn in the pan, then turn the heat down more. It will just take a few more minutes to cook.
- To serve the pork loin at a medium internal temperature, you will want to take it out of the oven when it reaches 135°. With carry-over cooking, the pork will advance in temperature while resting at or above 140° to 145°, making it a perfect medium internal temperature.
- You will have some herb butter leftover to use in another recipe later. The butter freezes well.
More Pork Recipes
Video
Roast Pork Loin Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pound pork loin
- 2 sticks softened unsalted butter
- 6-8 finely minced garlic cloves
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ peeled small diced shallot
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 ½ tablespoons whole grain mustard
- ½ cup dried tart cherries
- Coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by trussing the pork loin. See the video below on who to do this.
- Place the trussed pork loin on a sheet tray with a rack and generously season it on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Put the pork on the rack in the refrigerator uncovered for 24 hours and up to 48 hours. This process is known as dry brining.
- Make the herb butter by whipping the softened unsalted butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Turn the speed to low and add garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper until combined. Set it aside.
- In a large 12” inch sauté pan with olive oil, heat it over high heat until it begins to smoke.
- Place the pre-seasoned pork into the pan fat cap side down turn the heat down to medium, and sear for 3-4 minutes or until well browned.
- Give the pork a quarter turn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until well browned. Repeat the process on the direct other side until well browned.
- Turn the pork to seared fat cap side up turn the heat down to low, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in ½ of the herb butter.
- Once it’s melted, baste the pork with a large spoon for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Place the pork on the middle rack in the oven at 300° and cook for 32-35 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 135°. This will render a medium internal temperature.
- Once it’s done cooking, set the pork on a plate or cutting board and rest for 15 minutes.
- While it’s resting, drain half the fat from the pan and return the pan to a burner over medium heat.
- Stir in the shallot and cook sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Add the wine and cook until 2 to 3 tablespoons are remaining.
- Deglaze with the beef stock and cook over high heat for 2-4 minutes or until the amount of liquid is reduced by 2/3. It should be thicker, like a gravy.
- Finish by stirring in the mustard, dried cherries, 1 tablespoon of the herb butter, salt and pepper.
- Slice the pork and serve with the sauce.
I made this for a dinner with 14 people. It was a big hit with tender meat and a great sauce. Following the chef’s directions could not be clearer and easier. I have tried several recipes and they make me look like a great cook. In fact, I am great at following directions. Billy Parisi is my go-to chef for new ideas and recipes.h
Appreciate you giving it a try!
I love your cooking Billy….
delicious!!
Hello,
Where can you find a 2 1/2 lb pork loin?
They either come in a 1 lb package or a larger package I thought was a 2 1/2 lb but ended up being 2 smaller ones. I tied them together but it isn´t the same.
Fantastic recipe, never the less!!!
From a butcher 🙂
OK. This isn’t hard, but it does take preparatory reading so you can knock out the mandatory prep of dry brining the roast 24-48 hours ahead and the compounded butter the night prior as well. That being said, I followed the directions to a tee, and IT WAS FANTASTIC! My husband always raises an eyebrow when I say I am trying something new. He’s hard to win over and he was blown away. and had seconds. The pan gravy/sauce is simple and FULL of flavor. I added a few more cherries than called for, as I was using up a bag. I did, however, have a little trouble with the 3 cups of broth and the instruction to reduce it in 4 minutes. That’s a whole lot of liquid to reduce in 4 minutes. I let it go for about 12 minutes and got it down to almost half and added a bit of flour to thicken it up a bit. I am sure Chef Parisi will cringe at that, but I needed it to thicken. It eventually thickened as it cooled. I served this with creamy mashed potatoes with cream cheese and plenty of butter with the pan gravy dabbed on top. Perfection. My husband commented that it would be a great dish to serve for a small party. I had a 4.5 pound loin but it trussed and seared up the same as a 2.5 pound called for in the ingredient list. It took about 10-12 minutes longer to cook than the directions, but that’s what a thermometer if for. 5 stars from me!
I can tell from your comments that you are an excellent cook! thanks for giving it a shot!!
Outstanding.
In Central Pennsylvania, there is a long tradition handed down by the PA Dutch of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day for good luck. Some of that is due to the seasonality of agriculture back in the 18th and 19th centuries, with cabbage and hogs ready to harvest late in the year. I thought I’d try this recipe for a nice variation on the pork, and am glad I did.
I had never dry brined pork, but you can tell it does its magic when you take it out of the fridge. Got a nice sear and love the idea of basting with the compound butter. That got a real nice start on the loin. Mine was 4.33 pounds, so it took a bit longer (50 minutes) at 300°, but I like the lower heat setting than most other recipes call for, as it kept the meat moist. (It may seem *too* low, but that initial sear really gets the meat cooking through and the oven time just finishes the job.)
As I clipped away the trussing twine, I was gobbling up the little crusty bits that came off with it. And the true revelation was that sauce. I know that berries are often used as complements to pork, but I tend to stay away from sweet and berry elements when making pork. Not to worry: the flavor components were well balanced, with the tart cherry just bringing notes of interest, and the mustard and reduced stock giving a little punch. I wish I had made a double batch of the sauce!
Made this and it was a big hit. Feels fancy with cherry sauce, but not hard to make. Im not usually crazy about pork loin. This was tender, juicy and very tasty.
The meat was so tender and so delicious.
Very tasty ,wonderful combination of flavors !
Well done Chef Parisi
Made this. Absolutely delicious!
excellent!
Excellent! Made it for guests and they all raved about it.
love it!
Absolutely delicious. Pork was moist, tender and flavorful. The herb butter was the star. I didn’t make the sauce as I had some homemade pear and cherry chutney .
Yummy!
so good!!
Excellent
so good!!
This was delicious! I didn’t have whole grain mustard so I used Dijon and it was fabulous. My husband absolutely loved it! I am not usually a pork fan, but this was out of this world good.
Loved making this. It came out perfect!
Thank you ChefBilly tasty recipe 😋😁
300?
300 what?
Sounds good, I will try it!
I have only one question:
Why is it neccecery to trussing the pork loin?
keep shape, even cooking, juiciness in tact
I make this frequently!!
That’s awesome!
Absolutely delicious
thanks!
This look so awesome. I think I can do this!!
WOW!!! This looks so delicious. I picked up one at the grocery store and Meat market last weekend. Now I know what to do with mine. I’m at work right now doing my rounds and I’m so hungry and I sure could go for a slice of this Pork. Chef everything you cook looks so delicious and Beautiful.