Pork Roast with Bacon and Mushroom Gravy

By SewingDragonfly

Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

My Note: We had this at Mom’s on 3/10/11 when Kevin & Julie were there. Very good!

Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast
• 1 T plus 1 tsp Essence or other Creole Seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces thick cut bacon, diced
• 6 T all-purpose flour
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 1 T minced garlic
• 6 ounces button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 quart canned low-sodium beef broth
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 T sliced green onion tops
• Cooked white rice, for serving

Preparation

Step 1

Season the roast evenly with 2 tsp of the Essence, the salt and black pepper and rub into the meat. Heat a cast iron Dutch oven and, when hot, add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain and set aside. Add the roast to the pan and increase the heat to high. Cook until the roast is evenly browned on all sides, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the roast to a platter and set aside.

Add the flour to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until a roux the color of milk chocolate is formed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chopped onion, celery, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables have wilted, 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tsp of Essence and the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until they have released their liquid, about 4 minutes. Add the beef broth and Worcestershire and bring sauce to a boil. Return the roast to the pan and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook the roast for 30 minutes. Turn the roast over, cover the pan, and continue to cook on low heat until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 145 to 150 degrees, about 20 minutes longer.

Remove the roast from the pan and transfer to a platter. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Add the green onion tops to the sauce and cook for 10-15 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir the reserved crispy bacon into the sauce, slice the roast and serve, with the sauce ladled over the roast and cooked white rice alongside.