This is an easy José Andrés recipe that I saw on “A Moveable Feast with America’s Favorite Chefs” last weekend. You don’t even need to write down a grocery list really… it’s just pork, salt and your favorite herbs.
Andrés used parsley, thyme and rosemary in his original recipe. I love sage with pork, so I used that and a little parsley. The pork loin was really juicy, delicious and tender, even when I grilled up leftovers for lunch today.
Enjoy!
Pork Loin Baked in Salt with sliced Spanish Cured Ham
Recipe by José Andrés, Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
• 3 pounds sea salt
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 2- pound pork loin (two pound)
• 4 ounces of thinly sliced jamón serrano (Spanish cured ham)
• Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix the salt with 3 tablespoons water until the salt is slightly damp. The salt should be moist so it packs well. (As noted in the comments below by Reina Romero, the 3 tablespoons of water was not sufficient. If you feel you need more than the 3 tablespoons, just keep adding a little water at a time so the water packs together and doesn’t fall apart in your hands.)
Spread half of the salt on a sheet tray and lay 2 sprigs of the rosemary and the parsley and 3 sprigs of thyme on top of the salt.
Place the pork loin on top of the herbs. Lay the remaining herbs on top of the pork loin and cover the pork completely with the remaining salt, making sure to pack the salt in well around the pork.
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the pork and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Using a fork and spoon, crack open the side of the salt crust. The upper half of the salt, now a hard shell, should lift off easily. Transfer the pork to cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
Slice the loin into half-inch slices and arrange on four plates.
Lay slices of jamón in between pork slices. Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.
Leftovers below!
More about “A Moveable Feast with America’s Favorite Chefs”
José Andrés – Made In Spain Website
With my favorite tv chef
my last bite... 
Jo: I feel if like I didn’t miss the show, you did a beautiful Job! This looks fantastic, I definitely have to try this recipe.
You are my new hero. That looks just like . . . wait, BETTER than what Jose made, and you gave it grill marks.
And bonus points for the cute pig cutting board. That is pig-a-licious. You even went so far to shoot a little sprig of parsley out of his ass. I love it.
A+ and a perfect 10 score from the judges.
Just found your site! I loved Riva as well…my husband and I had that potato pizza on New Year’s Eve and were blown away. I agree on the desserts as well. Nothing was too sweet but it was all just decadent enough.
Did you have to brush off any of the salt from the bottom? I’ve always wanted to try a salt crust but have been afraid that it would turn out too salty…
Thanks.
PS- I just read your “about” section and was surprised (pleasantly!) that you’re half Japanese! I am as well…was born in Tokyo, moved when I was 5 and then moved back in my 20’s and lived there for a long time. My other half is of German/Czech.
🙂
I saw the show too…and said, wow, I have to try this one day. I’ve had fish baked in salt in Spain and was surprised that it just left the fish moist and not salty. Looks like the same result here.
simplyheaven,
I’m sure the show will repeat!
Phil,
I love my little pig boards… and couldn’t resist adding the “tail”.
Anne,
The pork wasn’t overly salty at all. If you are still worried about making it, I would just add extra herbs in between the pork and salt. (And yes, I’m a proud Happa…. and LOVE your blog!)
joan nova,
This was my first time “baking in salt” and it couldn’t have been easier! Thanks for visiting my blog.
PS, The Pretenders are on Kimmel tonight, FYI:)
Fantastic blog. I hope my blogging evolves into something like this site.
Thanks for sharing,
Eric
OK, stupid Q: I hope to god you can re-use the sea-salt?
TonyC,
After baking, the salt is really hard and in just a few large pieces. I used kosher, so it wasn’t expensive.
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Hello, Jo. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where did you purchase your pig-shaped cutting boards? I’ve been looking for one for a while now, but I haven’t seen ones as cute as these 😉 Thanks for any information.
Victoria,
Thanks for visiting my blog.
I got my pig board on Ebay a few years ago, but here are some similar ones linked from Serious Eats. http://www.google.com/products?q=pig+cutting+board&oe=utf-8&sa=N&start=0
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Hi Sweetheart
Had to email to let you know how fabulous the pork in sea salt is!! Dad cooked it tonight and we all stood around watching it emerge from the crust. Wow, what a flavour – and as you say, so tender. Thank you so much for the ‘heads up’ on it.
Tons of love
Mandy xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your food pics are gorgeous!
Congrats on the LA Times today!!
…pure pork passion.
I liked this recipe. One note: 3 Tablespoons of water did not work. Needed more.
Reina Romero,
You are ABSOLUTELY right. I forgot I added some water after mixing. I didn’t measure the extra water, but I think it was about 5 or 6 tablespoons. What did you end up using?
I tried making it and 25 minutes was not enough; what did I do wrong
Hi Vita, I’ve made this several times and it turned out fine, so I’m just throwing out some possible fixes:
Temperature of your oven:
Was it PREheated to 400 degrees? Do you have an oven thermometer to make sure the inside is as hot as your external readings?
Was the pork loin larger than 2 pounds?
Again, I’m just guessing here.
Note: Here is the original recipe link
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22650855/
Joe,yes the owen was preheated to 400 degrees;I don’t have a thermometer inside the owen (probably good to have but never encountered the problem before);the loin is actually 1lb;I’m finishing cooking it w/o top layer of salt.it usually takes a long time for a pork to cook why would this recipe say 25 minutes? Do you think I should used more salt?
Hi Vita, I’m totally stumped! I wish I knew the answer, but I don’t. I’m going to put a message out to Twitter. Maybe someone else has had the same problems.
I have to say, we want something different for our Christmas Dinner so we have decided on your recipe. I’m so anxious that I can hardly wait to see the perfection come alive. But, I do have one question, will the pork taste salty? That was my only concern. Sounds so delicious!!