Baked pork with Italian herbs in the oven

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 2 hr 30 mins

1. STEP 1

   

   First, let's prepare the brine. Pour 1.5 liters of water into a large saucepan.

2. STEP 2

   

   Add bay leaf and black peppercorns.

3. STEP 3

   

   Add salt.

4. STEP 4

   

   And Provençal herbs. If you don't have Provencal herbs, you can use Italian ones or replace them with a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon of dry thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of dry rosemary.

5. STEP 5

   

   Place the pan over high heat and bring the brine to a boil. Cook for about one minute, remove from heat and let the brine cool.

6. STEP 6

   

   Rinse the meat in cold water and then place it in the cooled brine.

7. STEP 7

   

   Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2-3 days.

8. STEP 8

   

   After 2-3 days, take the meat out of the refrigerator, remove it from the brine and remove excess moisture with paper towels.

9. STEP 9

   

   Prepare a garlic-mustard mixture for greasing the meat. To do this, finely chop the garlic and place it in a bowl.

10. STEP 10

    

    Add vegetable oil and Dijon mustard to the garlic.

11. STEP 11

    

    Mix thoroughly until smooth.

12. STEP 12

    

    Salt and pepper the meat on all sides.

13. STEP 13

    

    Brush the pork with the garlic mustard mixture on all sides.

14. STEP 14

    

    Wrap the pork tightly and in foil.

15. STEP 15

    

    Place on a baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 190 C for about 2 hours.

16. STEP 16

    

    After 2 hours, take out the baking sheet with the meat, set the oven to preheat to 240 C. Carefully cut the foil (be careful, you can get burned by the steam).

17. STEP 17

    

    Open the foil (extra edges can be trimmed) and send the boiled pork back to the oven to bake at 240 C for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown. It is best to bake using convection mode at this moment.

18. STEP 18

    

    This is the crust I got :)

19. STEP 19

    

    Place the boiled pork on a plate and serve. This meat is excellent both hot and cold, so you can safely prepare a double portion, serve hot on the holiday table, and the next morning thinly slice the cold boiled pork.