Italian-Style Pork Roast with Fennel and Orange

The pork before it goes in

I LOVE Wegman's grocery store.  It is my favorite place to shop and going there is the highlight when running errands.  Wegman's publishes a magazine called Menu which I look forward to getting every quarter.  I saw this recipe in there a while back and have been wanting to try it.  When I went shopping for the ingredients I didn't get exactly what was called for.  Instead of a pork shoulder I got a   pork loin and instead of naval oranges I used clementines.  I'm sure it won't make too much of a difference (fingers crossed).  


I followed the directions: scored the pork and rubbed it with salt, pepper, one large clove of garlic, and lots of fennel seed then it on the onions and clementines.  I did not have enough time to out in the fridge over night, just for about three hours before I put it in the oven.  


I'm going to roast it on low, 275 degrees, for about four hours.  We'll see how it turns out!


Well, the results are in... two thumbs up.  I took the pork out of the oven after about three hours.  The temp on the thermometer was about 160 degrees.  I let the pork rest, covered with tin foil, on the stove while I roasted carrots in the oven.  Once the carrots were done, I turned off the oven and put the pork back in to keep warm while I made mushroom risotto.


I sliced the pork and served it with the onions and some of the au jus.  The pork was very moist and tender.  The fennel and orange flavors complimented each other very well.  


I think that if I had used the shoulder, it would have been more like pulled pork, with that "fall off the bone" quality.  Next time I will try it with the pork shoulder, but I that tonight's pork loin was delicious and I would recommend this recipe.