Pork Loin Roast Recipe — Feeding Thirty Volunteers and a Whole Block’s Worth of Hope

Harvey aftermath, week two. The water is gone. The damage stays. Ma's house needs new flooring, new drywall in the bottom two feet, new kitchen cabinets. The insurance claim is filed. The contractor is booked until November. She's living in the house with the damage because Mai Tran does not leave her house for anything short of death. She's sleeping in the bedroom (which didn't flood) and cooking in a gutted kitchen with a camping stove I brought her. She made pho on the camping stove. Of course she did. I've been spending every evening after work at her house, ripping out damaged material, running fans and dehumidifiers. Linh hired a mold remediation company. Between the two of us, we're managing. But it's hard. It's hard to see the house your parents built with dishwashing money sitting gutted and damp. The neighborhood is wrecked. Piles of debris on every curb — carpet, drywall, furniture, the material contents of people's lives stacked on the sidewalk like a yard sale from hell. The smell is everywhere — mold, mildew, wet wood. It'll be months before it fades. But here's what else is happening: people are showing up. Total strangers with trucks and tools, coming from San Antonio, from Dallas, from out of state, gutting houses for free. A church group from Minnesota showed up on Ma's block and ripped out carpet for eight hours. Tam Nguyen organized a Vietnamese community crew that worked ten houses in four days. I smoked a pork shoulder and fed thirty volunteers on Tuesday. The first time I lit the smoker since the storm. The smoke rising in the air felt like a signal — we're still here. The food is back. On a completely unrelated note that I feel strange even mentioning: my company gave me the regional sales award this week. For the fiscal year. Top producer in the Southwest region. They announced it at a meeting and handed me a plaque and I stood there holding it thinking: there are people in my neighborhood sleeping on air mattresses. What does a plaque mean right now? But I brought it home and put it next to the kids' photos. Not because it matters in the grand scheme. Because it matters that a C-student shrimp boat dropout refugee's son was the best at something, even if the timing is absurd. The plaque stays. The work continues. Houston will come back. We always do.

That Tuesday when I fired up the smoker and fed thirty strangers who’d spent the day ripping soggy drywall out of my neighbors’ houses, I realized the cut of meat almost didn’t matter — what mattered was that it was hot, there was enough, and somebody gave a damn. This pork loin roast is the simpler, oven-friendly version of what I’ve been making when the smoker isn’t an option. It feeds a crowd, it doesn’t need babysitting, and it tastes like somebody’s actually trying — which, after two weeks of gutting flooded houses, is the only thing that matters.

Pork Loin Roast

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork loin roast (4 to 5 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions

1. Prep the rub. In a small bowl, combine the kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar. Mix well.
2. Season the pork. Pat the pork loin dry with paper towels. Rub the Dijon mustard all over the surface, then press the minced garlic, rosemary, and thyme onto the meat. Sprinkle the spice rub evenly over all sides. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes if you have the time.
3. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 400°F. Place a roasting rack inside a roasting pan or use a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack.
4. Sear the roast. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the pork loin on all sides until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
5. Roast. Transfer the seared pork to the roasting rack. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the pan. Roast for 55 to 70 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F on an instant-read thermometer.
6. Rest before slicing. Remove the roast from the oven and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes — the temperature will rise another 5 to 10 degrees. This keeps the juices in the meat instead of on the cutting board.
7. Slice and serve. Cut into 1/2-inch slices. Spoon any pan drippings over the top. Serve with whatever sides you’ve got — rice, bread, potato salad, it all works.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 280 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 3g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 680mg