Spice Rubbed Pork Loin

[This is Part 5 in our Catering series. To view previous posts, click here.]

The final component of the party menu is Spice Rubbed Pork Loin.  This pork is where it’s at! It’s juicy, tender and spicy. The combination of cumin and paprika gives it a warm smokey flavor without being too hot. If you prefer a little more kick, just up the amount of crushed red pepper you add to the rub. For the party, we roasted the pork loins and put them into a roaster on the lowest setting just to keep the meat warm. We wanted to keep the heat nice and low so the meat didn’t continue to cook. We found a great roasted salsa verde at Costco that went beautifully with the sliced pork, saving us time and money! This shaved a good (valuable) hour off our prep time. But, really, any salsa verde would work great.

(photo courtesy of The Wedding Format)

Spice Rubbed Pork Loin

By Dave and Sarah Eickelberg Published: July 18, 2012

• Yield: 1 3/4 lb pork loin (4-6 Servings)
• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 20 mins
• Ready In: 30 mins

Pork loin covered in a smokey/spicy rub, roasted to perfection

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 3/4lb - 1lb pork tenderloins halved, crosswise
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 1 jar salsa verde for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Combine the paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin and 2 teaspoons salt in a shallow dish. Rub the pork all over with the olive oil, then roll in the spice mixture to coat.
   
2. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 145 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes.
   
3. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest, 5 minutes.
   

Even friends of ours who are not big fans of meat loved this pork! That’s success in our book! We ended up with a good amount leftover meat so we bagged it up and threw it in the freezer. The spices here are right up our alley, so we’ve come up with quite a few ideas to make good use of it! We’ve been able to make tacos, BBQ pork sandwiches, and torta sandwiches with avocado, pickled red onion and sliced radishes.

Thank you, Josh and Carrie, for taking a chance and allowing us to be a part of your celebration. We are so honored! It was truly one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever been a part of!!