The Pork Roast That Thought It Was Prime Rib

We saw a recipe for a Potato Leek Gratin in the New York Times. It has been cold and rainy here in LA so we decided to make it. What goes better with a Potato Gratin than Pork?

We wanted to make the pork roast on the Egg, but we didn’t know if the weather would cooperate for outdoor grilling. We decided to try and hope the weather would clear. It did! For that one day, the clouds disappeared and I was able to smoke the pork in the Egg. It was the first time we had used it in several months.

The recipe we made was: Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast from License to Grill by Chris Schlesinger. We purchased the pork loin at McCall's Meat and Fish. This is a very easy and good recipe. I used maple wood for the smoke flavoring. It only takes about an hour and a half in the egg to have a great smoky taste. You can get the recipe in our blog of: July 2, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We haven’t returned to McCall’s Meat and Fish since we made this pork, and I want to find out more about the pork that he cut for us. This pork was unbelievably good. It was richly marbled and had the consistency of prime rib, not pork. It was an amazing piece of meat. When we picked up the meat we knew we were getting something special, we had pre-ordered the meat, and Karen grabbed a pork roast for us, Nate told her he had a different cut for us, so she put the one she was going to give us back and gave us the one that Nate suggested. Amazing!

New York Times

March 11, 2011

Potato Leek Gratin

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, more for greasing the pan

2 large leeks, trimmed and halved lengthwise

1 1/2 pounds peeled Yukon Gold potatoes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 thyme sprigs

1 cup heavy cream

1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3/4 cup Gruyère, grated.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 2-quart gratin dish. Wash the leeks to remove any grit and slice thinly crosswise.

2. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice the potatoes into rounds, 1/8-inch thick. Toss with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Layer the rounds in the gratin dish.

3. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, remaining salt and pepper, and thyme. Cook, stirring, until leeks are tender and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Discard thyme and scatter the leeks over the potatoes.

4. Add cream, garlic and bay leaf to the skillet, scraping up browned bits of leeks from the bottom of the pan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in nutmeg.

5. Pour the cream over the leeks and potatoes and top with the Gruyère. Cover with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, uncover and bake until the cheese is bubbling and golden, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Let cool slightly before serving.

Yield: 6 servings.