Tequila Porkloin

Raver asked me if I am game for a cookout last weekend. Of course I said yes. 

We asked each other, "What's the theme?"

MarshMalou: "Erm... let me check online and look up some recipes. What are you making?"

Raver: "Ovenbaked fries. I've been eating them for days now. And pizza!!"

MarshMalou: "So, we will have Italian? Oh.. what the heck! Will just check recipes online"

Doobidoobidoo.... *click* *click* *click* *click* then I came across Home Cooking Rocks. It looked so interesting and I was so intrigued with the Tequila...so Tequila Pork Loin it is! 

It looked fairly easy, so early Saturday morning, I went to Unimart with my sidekick (Dear Boyfriend) and bought the ingredients needed. First on the list... PORK LOIN! 

Unfortunately, my mom didn't accompany me so I had to ask the butcher and guess by myself, oh and dear sidekick too! 

Clean and wash 1 1/4 kg of pork loin. This is one whole slab but I asked the butcher to make 1" deep slits in between the mean. Although I saw smaller vertical cuts of pork loin in another meat shop. I think the next time that I make these, I will get the smaller strips instead for easier handling.

Pat the meat dry. Set aside.

Put the meat in a zip bag and prepare the marinade.

Prepare the marinade:
1/4 cup Tequila
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 pcs lemons, quartered
2 pcs onions, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pc finger chili, chopped

Put all the marinade in the bag. Seal and mash the marinade into the meat. Massage the lemons and onions into the meat to tenderize it. Let the meat absorb the marinade.

After giving it a good massage, place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When you are ready to cook you porkloin, heat your pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and sear both sides.

This takes a while especially since the meat I used is quite thick.

Once both side are cooked, place the fried pork loin into the baking dish.

I added more slits so that it cooks easier and I have room for my apricot jam (erm.... the recipe called for apricot jam but dear sidekick somehow made a booboo and grabbed the peach jam instead. Not bad though=))

Bake the pork loin (slit side down) for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then flip the meat and add 1 tsp of dried rosemary.

Then, it goes back to the oven for another 10 minutes. For this recipe, I added the onions since I didn't want it to go to waste. The meat here is almost cooked. Just some final heating and yummy... it smells so delicious!

After the final 10 minutes, place foil and "tent" the meat for an hour or so.

Enjoy!


P.S. In my friends' excitement to eat the dish... I forgot to take a final picture. oops!