(Mis?)Adventures in Cooking: Homemade Braised Pork Loin

Pork loin was on sale for cheap so I bought one and decided to braise it.  The thing I like about braising is you can adjust the stock on the fly and can taste as you braise.  For this recipe, I decided on a soy-based broth.  Just a word of warning, you might learn what not to do from this post or maybe why you should follow an actual recipe instead of winging it but it works for me.

In arbitrary amounts, I added:

• garlic
• soy sauce
• rice vinegar
• chicken broth
• sugar
• ginger
• salt

It's really all an experiment to me but due keep in mind that the flavors in the stock will intensify as it's reduced.

I started by browning the loin in sesame oil over medium high heat... with a bit of sugar which if you try you need to be careful not to burn.  Just sear each side quickly and then pour water and chicken broth until the loin is surrounded but not covered.  Add the rest of the ingredients to taste.  Cover and simmer for about 2 hours.  I simmered for 3 and 1/2 hours and will tell you why you shouldn't in just a bit.

After about 2 hours, you'll have a chunk of meat that looks like this.  Pretty good, no?  It actually was pretty good.

But a tad overcooked as the 3 and 1/2 hours made the loin too mushy to cut properly; it just shredded when I tried to cut it.  It was very moist though!

For your leftover pork loin, skim or pour the broth through a sieve/cheesecloth and store the loin in the broth in an airtight container. It will tend to dry out otherwise.  You can just reheat the pork loin in the broth when you want to eat it again.