Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin

Jenny is in perpetual search for easy, weeknight recipes to attempt to feed her family. When they balk, she just eats more.

Today: Yes, you can make pork loin on a weeknight.

At first blush, you might feel Jenny, who enjoys speaking of herself in the third person from time to time, has just chosen a recipe for you that takes too long to make during the week. Perhaps you are very sad now and wandering off to the vegan columnist.

But wait! Because I made this delicious Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Pork Loin, which calls for a bone-in pork loin, with a 2 pound boneless loin, and cut the cooking time in half.

After consulting the brains on Hotline, I did this by preheating my oven at 325 degrees rather than 375. I used just as much rub as the beautiful and talented mtlabor calls for, because why not. I wrapped this guy with a single slice of nice thick bacon. I couldn’t find my little Le Creuset roasting dish, because someone decided to hide it, perhaps in the same place as my favorite black pants that went missing in October and my favorite mascara. So I tossed my loin in a frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil in the bottom.

I made my glaze while the pork cooked, and after a half hour, checked my meat every ten minutes or so until it had an internal temperature of 115 degrees, per my Hotline response. I then glazed the meat and cooked it until 135 degrees, though I found it a tad overcooked after resting for 15 minutes, but not terribly so.  

The sweetness mixed with the tad of heat was irresistible. I served it up with a side of ten-minute barley and some green beans I ferreted out from the back of the freezer: all told an hour’s worth of work people.

Bacon Wrapped Brown Sugar Pork Loin by mtlabor

Serves 3-4

Pork Loin:

3 pounds bone-in pork loin roast
5-6 pieces of bacon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.