With all my Irish Potato Bread now eaten, I’m moving on to the next round of Irish-influenced good food and great music, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day Weekend.
This dish is a great way to incorporate A Drop of the Black Stuff in a dark, sweet glaze and sauce to enjoy with roast pork. As you can see from my main photo, I served this with creamy potato mash over a bed of shredded savoy cabbage. The garnish of scallions (spring onions) adds another taste, and contributes to the shamrock green colour palette.
It both looks and tastes great. What’s more, once you’ve opened the bottle of Guinness for the glaze, the rest can be poured into a glass as a well-earned appetiser for the hard working cook. So what’s not to like?
Servings
My carving of the pork loin produced 11 slices, so at 2 slices per person this will comfortably feed 4 -5.
Timings
15 mins to make the glaze. The pork takes an initial 20 mins in the oven at 180C, then a further 50 mins to slow cook at a lower setting of 150C.
You Will Need
- 1kg good quality pork loin, skinless and boneless (I bought mine from a local independent butcher)
- 200ml Guinness
- 50ml runny honey
- 120g light brown sugar
- seasalt and black pepper
Method
- Combine the Guinness, honey and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then turn down to a simmer and allow to reduce by about half. Remove the saucepan to a cool place. Don’t be too concerned if it still looks too liquidy for a glaze – as it starts to cool it will thicken.
- Turn on the oven at 180C.
- Lay the pork loin on a chopping board, fat side up. With a sharp knife, score lines in the layer of fat at 1cm intervals. Grind over some seasalt and black pepper, then rub it in to the fat layer with your fingers.
- Place the pork on a roasting dish and put in the oven when it has reached temperature. Leave for 20mins.
- Remove the pork from the oven and turn the temperature down to 150C. Brush the pork all over with most of the Guinness and honey glaze, and put it back in the oven for a further 50 mins.
- Take the dish from the oven at 10 – 15 min intervals and baste with the liquid gathering in the bottom of the roasting dish. These will be a mixture of the Guinness and honey glaze and the juices from the pork as it cooks.
- Remove the cooked pork after 50 mins and let it rest on a chopping board for 5 mins, then carve into slices. See my photos below.
- Tip the juices from the roasting dish into the saucepan along with the remaining Guinness and honey glaze. Stir to combine as you warm it through, then pour into a jug.
- Serve slices of the pork with your choice of veg, and drizzle over the Guinness and honey sauce (see my main photo at the top of this post). My veg is boiled potatoes mashed with butter, steamed shredded savoy cabbage, and a garnish of chopped scallions.
Customise It!
You have scope to vary the veg accompaniments, though I would keep to a potatoes and greens theme for a St Patrick’s celebration. Add the chopped scallions directly into the mash, to make champ. You could also replace the cabbage with kale or cavolo nero.
No prizes for guessing the suggested choice of drink to enjoy with your meal!
My St. Patrick’s Playlist has been prominent in the ADK kitchen this weekend, and here is another track. This one is something of a timeless classic from Belfast’s own Van the Man: Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile).
A Different Kitchen 