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Balsamic Pork Loin is the only answer to – what should we have for dinner tonight? We’re taking the humble pork loin and creating something totally show stopping. The best part? You can transform the leftovers into whatever you’d like – yum!
I’ve suffered through dry, lack luster pork in my life and I have since sworn to never allow myself to eat a single bite of this protein unless it’s truly tantalizing. This rule has allowed for some truly mouth watering creations to take place in my kitchen, the latest of which is this Balsamic Pork Loin.
I mean how can this dish not be spectacular? We’re using a spice packed dry rub to encrust our pork with tons of flavor, followed by a sticky complex glaze that bursting with soy sauce, brown sugar, and balsamic.
This loin is going to fill your house with the most mouth watering aroma ever as it cooks! The whole neighborhood might come knocking, so get ready for company.
Pork Loin
This cut of meat runs along the rib cage of the pig. This is the cut of pork that you can slice up into steak sized pieces and is the cut of pork that people typically end up drying out. But fear not – Jo will never let pork get dry in your kitchen.
Ingredients
Dry rub
- Spices – Chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and onion powder.
- Sugar – Brown sugar is the flavor we want to carry through all the elements of our dish today, it’s going to caramelize and create a beautiful crust on our pork loin.
- Herbs – We’re just using dried thyme today, try not to use fresh for this step as we don’t want our herbs to burn and we want a nice little flavor concentrate.
- Seasoning – Salt and ground pepper to taste.
Glaze
- Sugar – Brown sugar is the flavor we want to carry through all the elements of our dish today. It’s molasses notes will cook down beautifully in our glaze and will give us tons of depth or flavor.
- Balsamic – This dark vinegar will offer way more than just acidity and tang to our dish, it’ll also incorporate dark and rich notes that will play nicely with our brown sugar.
- Soy sauce – This will be the bulk of the sodium in our glaze so if you’re trying to cut back feel free to use low sodium instead.
- Slurry – We’re going to incorporate both cornstarch and water into our glaze to help it thicken up nicely and become perfectly pourable.
Pork loin
- Pork – I’m using loin today, as I explained above it’s a cut of meat that tends to dry out so scroll down for best handling practices when it comes to this protein.
- Oil – You can use whichever oil you prefer, whether it be olive oil or a super light tasting vegetable oil.
How to make Balsamic Pork Loin
- Combine dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Rub the dry rub all over the pork loin. Place in a baking dish with 1/4 cup of oil.
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Transfer the pork loin to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Finish the pork loin: In another bowl mix all the glaze ingredients together. Pour the glaze over the pork loin and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Brush the loin with the glaze, 2 or 3 times during the last half hour of cooking. The loin is done when the internal temperature is 145 F degrees.
- Rest and serve: Transfer the pork loin to a cutting board and cover with foil. Let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing it and serving.
Let it rest
Don’t cut into them right away – believe me! All the juices will run out and you’ll end up with dry pork, and nobody likes that. Wait a few minutes, around 10 minutes if you’re patient, then drizzle any remaining glaze and serve it up!
How do I know if my pork is safe to eat?
I know that a lot of you may have a fear of undercooked pork. The standard for fully cooked and safe pork is now 145F. This is wonderful because at the old standard of 170F, pork ended up being incredibly dry and chewy which is what we don’t want.
I highly suggest getting an instant read thermometer! If you use bone in and a meat thermometer just be sure the thermometer isn’t touching the bone. If you prefer cooking your pork more than 145F, that is totally okay. It’s your dinner after all!
Some tips
- You can use bone in or boneless pork loin, whichever you prefer is completely up to you.
- If you don’t own a meat thermometer, pierce the pork in the middle with a fork and if the juices run clear, the meat is done.
- Make sure you let your pork loin rest before slicing into it! It will be tempting to cut into it right away but this will result in all those juices leaving the meat and making your roast dry.
How to serve
This dish was made to be paired with delicious side dishes, it just was! I like to focus on some creamy carbs or some roasted veggies, try some of these and thank me later:
- Mashed Potatoes
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Loaded Scalloped Potatoes
- Roasted Green Beans And Mushrooms
- Garlic Butter Mushrooms
- Creamy Polenta
- White Beans with Bacon and Herbs
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes
Storing Leftover Balsamic Pork Loin
Cooked pork loin will last in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days if it’s stored in an airtight container.
Freezer
Be sure to freeze your pork within 2 hours of cooking to limit bacteria growth, and it’ll last up to 3 months. So enjoy that bad boy now or later!
Craving More Pork? Try These Recipes:
- Pork Schnitzel
- Pan Seared Pork Chops With Gravy
- Pork Carnitas
- Korean Style Pork Chops
- Ranch Pork Chops And Potatoes Sheet Pan Dinner
- Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin
- Easy Oven Baked Pork Chops
- Pork Loin Roast
- Sweet And Sour Pork
Balsamic Pork Loin
Ingredients
Dry Rub
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
Glaze
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
Pork Loin
- 2 pound pork loin boneless
- 1/4 cup oil
Instructions
- Combine dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Rub the dry rub all over the pork loin. Place in a baking dish with 1/4 cup of oil.
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Transfer the pork loin to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- In another bowl mix all the glaze ingredients together. Pour the glaze over the pork loin and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Brush the loin with the glaze, 2 or 3 times during the last half hour of cooking. The loin is done when the internal temperature is 145 F degrees.
- Transfer the pork loin to a cutting board and cover with foil. Let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing it and serving.
Tips & Notes:
- Cooked pork loin will last in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days if it’s stored in an airtight container.
- Be sure to freeze your pork within 2 hours of cooking to limit bacteria growth, and it’ll last up to 3 months. So enjoy that bad boy now or later!
