Roasting pork in an oven bag completely transforms your regular Sunday dinner to a celebration. Whether you are cooking pork loin, shoulder, or just regular ham, the extra juicy meat that comes out of the bag will make everyone around the table smile and nod. A wise cook would always make sure that the pork does not come out dry or shrink in the oven. You only have two options in order to achieve that; either use an oven bag or cook the meat in an electric roaster oven. I suggest you do both to fully enjoy a mind-blowing pork roast; you know you deserve it.
Everybody loves a crispy crackling on the pork roast. However, it is trickier to get that crispiness in an oven bag since the steam inside has nowhere to go.
Trapped steam and smoke in the bag soften the meat. That is great for the inner sections, but you need a whole different approach for the skin.
If you only poke a few holes on top of the oven bag, then you are in trouble since your crackling will probably turn out rubbery and soft. Instead, you need to cut a small triangle from the corner about one and a half inches size-wise. But it does not just end there. You also need to play with the recipe to make sure your pork roast has a crunchy bite on the outer skin.
Before we begin, these are the best oven bags and browning sauce for making delicious oven bag pork:
Now, let’s delve into our oven bag recipe for pork!
Oven Bag Recipe for Delicious Pork Roast
Soft and Crispy – Best of Both Worlds
There are so many methods to get crispy skin on the pork roast. Some are really complex, and some are useless. The following is a tried and proved technique that will get you a flavorful roast the right way each time you cook your pork in an oven bag.
Tips: Covering the pork roast with aluminum foil for 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven bag will improve the flavors immensely. Use garlic powder and also dry garlic cloves since pork tends to go great with lots of it.
Ingredients:
- About 3 pounds bone in pork loin
- 4-5 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar (apple vinegar is preferred but feel free to use any other type as you like)
- 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of ground oregano
- 1-2 tablespoons of garlic powder
- 4 peeled garlic cloves
- ½ tablespoon of dried rosemary
- Sea-salt
Directions:
- Dry up the skin thoroughly with paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 450°
- Make thin slashes on the meat with a sharp knife. Go about half an inch deep into the meat.
- Brush the skin with vinegar and try to infuse it in between the slashes.
- Brush the skin with olive oil completely. Add more olive oil if it is necessary; you should cover the skin very well.
- Sprinkle sea-salt generously all over the meat.
- Sprinkle all the dry herbs over the pork loin.
- Cut the garlic cloves in halves, and insert them in between the slashes on top.
- Get the oven bag out. I use large size Reynolds Kitchens bags for pork roasts. They are simply the best for cooking juicy meat.
- Place the meat inside the oven bag and seal with the bag tie. Cut a triangle shape from the corner of the bag; it should be about one and a half inches long from the sides.
- Cook at 450°F for 30 minutes and then drop the temperature to 350° The meat temperature should show 155°F (68°C) when the pork loin is fully cooked.
How to Use an Oven Bag
Oven bags are a great alternative to cook large pieces of meat that can dry up easily in the oven due to long cooking times. They are designed to trap the moisture inside during roasting. Circulating the aroma and juices of the meat within the bag enhances the quality of the final meat enormously.
Here are the basic steps on how to use an oven bag:
- Put 1 tablespoon of wheat flour in the oven bag and shake well. You can substitute wheat flour with cornstarch or rice flour.
- Place the meat inside the oven bag.
- Seal the oven bag with the enclosed bag tie.
- Either poke a few holes on top of the oven bag or cut a few 1/2-inch slits with a sharp knife. This will help to release the extra steam during cooking.
- Make sure the oven bag is not touching the heating element, walls of the oven, or the rack while cooking.
In Conclusion
Trying to cook some soft meat with crispy skin might sound too much, even for a seasoned cook. However, this method, which offers the best of both worlds, is completely achievable and foolproof with a few simple tricks. A right size oven bag and a roaster oven are all you need equipment-wise for a tasty pork roast. Treat the meat with enough salt and vinegar, and then you should have a crunchy bite too. Enjoy a savory Sunday dinner with your family only with little effort.
