Green Pekoe Brined Pork Loin

This is a dish that we really enjoyed. I have decided that I really like to brine certain meats--pork, chicken, turkey (next will try lamb). The brining process really does help the meat stay moist and you can use whatever seasoning you prefer after using the basic salt & sugar. There are many excellent brining recipes out there & I encourage you to try at least one if you do eat these foods. At Thanksgiving we brined chickens instead of turkey and cooked them on the rotisserie and they were excellent.

Ingredients
1 quart cold water
1/3 cup sea salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon peppercorns
2 tablespoons Green Pekoe Tea
2 lb. pork loin
2 tablespoons cooking oil
paprika

Directions
Bring water, salt, sugar, & peppercorns to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea. Cool solution to room temp. Place pork loin in a self sealing plastic bag and add enough solution to cover. Place sealed bag in a large bowl (just in case it leaks).
Weigh the meat down by placing an object (such as a can of food) on top so that the meat is submerged in the solution. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove pork from solution & rinse & pat dry. Discard solution. Brown pork on all sides in vegetable oil. Sprinkle all sides with paprika and place in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour. Ovens vary, so check doneness by making a small cut in pork. Remove pork from oven & tent in foil for about 10 minutes. Slice & serve.

Note--the tea used in this recipe was from Adagio. I am a real tea drinker and frequent this tea site. I have entered this recipe in the February Tea Chef contest (the name of the recipe is listed & my other initial M. Hall) If anyone feels so inclined, I would appreciate your vote (by Feb. 28) over at

http://www.adagio.com/

Happy Cooking,

Fran