Most loin I see in the grocery store is probably too lean for your recipe, if the dish calls for shoulder. Braising and other long, slow cooking methods are used to for cuts with a lot of connective tissue and fat. The connective tissue softens and gelatinizes, the fat melts and keeps the lean meat moist. If you braise a lean cut for a long time, it will just be tough and dry. Pork loin in particular dries out easily, think about how easy it is to overcook a pork chop. I'm surprised your grocery doesn't have some pork shoulder cuts, note that ''boston butt'' is a shoulder cut too.

Yes, you can braise a pork loin roast until it is fall apart tender. A pork loin can be as melt in your mouth tender as a pork shoulder. As long as you have enough liquid in your dutch oven and a tight fitting lid, your roast will not dry out.

I have often subbed a pork loin for shoulder.

Ann

You can do it, but you have to be very careful not to overcook it. My friend's Cuban mother makes a Cuban pork loin. Lots of cumin and garlic -- delicious. She used to cook it overnight in the oven at a very low temperature, but I am chicken to have the oven on while I'm asleep. So, low and slow, and keep checking the temperature.
Cooking it covered in the oven is still braising.

I was thinking of the connective tissue thing too and that's why it's cooked like that. I guess I can try the loin and see what happens. Christine, I thought you said you were trying it with chicken and not that you were chicken. I remember having slowed cooked chicken at a low temp for hours in the oven and I could barely swallow it, it was so dry. We were at someone's house so I didn't want to be rude but honestly, I chewed and chewed because I thought I would choke, it was that dry.

I braise a whole pork loin in a Le Creuset dutch oven all the time. I bought one yesterday and plan to cut out the center for pork chops and I will braise the rest. usually I cook on Pure convection at 285 degrees for about 3 hours - I turn it over one time during the process and check the liquid. It is never overcooked or tough and is melt in your mouth tender.
I used to use shoulder - sold as Boston butt here, but found it to be very fatty and switched to whole pork loins many years ago.

I would love your Cuban pork recipe.

magothyrivergirl. Just wondering why you use the convection setting when cooking in a covered pot? Covered food doesn't really benefit from the convection method. At least that was my understanding.

Ann

I also braise pork loin in the oven at low temp (275-300) using my LC. I usually season, sear stovetop, and then toss in a quartered onion, a few garlic cloves, & a bottle of beer. How long in the oven, of course, depends on the size of the loin. Normally, we buy 3-4 lbs. & it takes about 5 hours to become melt in your mouth tender. However, frankly, even though the loin can be braised very successfully I do think that pork shoulder (pork butt) is tastier. Sorta of a no-brainer, I guess for me...as Emeril would say, "It's a pork fat thing!" I use the loin though to keep down the fat content in our diet and just realize that we're losing some of the rich flavor. So, use loin...it'll still be yum.

/tricia

Whether or not you prefer convection, the problem I see is that convection runs 25 degrees lower than the set temperature. So if a roast is convectioned at 285, then the food is actually cooking at 260 degrees. Personally, I would like to see the temperature in the same range Tricia cited.

Beachlily, my convection runs at whatever temperature I set it at. The odd time I use true convection, I set the temperature 25ð to 50ðf lower depending on what I am baking.

Ann

Why would somebody use convection to braise? It's covered. Convection is to circulate air. I don't understand how circulating air will make any difference to a tightly covered LC Dutch oven? Am I missing something?

/t

No Tricia, as I understand it, you are correct. Convection with a covered Dutch Oven is pointless since the circulating hot air will never reach the food.

Alexa

Sure, its a recipe by Alison Mesrop. I really do love this recipe, so very good. I use the leftovers to make Cuban sandwiches.

Brine:

* 1/2 cup fresh orange or tangerine juice
* 1/4 cup kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
* 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika
* 1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 3 cloves garlic , coarsely chopped
* 3 1/2 cups cold water
* 1 (5- to 6-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast , tied

Glaze:

* 1/2 cup lemon or orange or tangerine sorbet
* 2 tablespoons fresh tangerine or lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
* Orange slices, for garnish (optional)
* Chopped cilantro , for garnish (optional)
* 24 Boston lettuce (about 2 heads), for serving
* Fresh salsas (recipes below), for serving

Directions
To make brine: In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, salt, brown sugar, rosemary, paprika, peppercorns, oregano and garlic. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring until salt and sugar dissolve, about 30 seconds. Pour into a large bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in water. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. Place pork roast in a large Ziploc bag. Pour brine over roast and seal bag. Place bag in a large bowl and refrigerate 24 hours, turning bag once.

Preheat oven to 300ð. Remove pork from brine and transfer to a large roasting pan. Cover loosely with foil. Roast pork 6 hours, or until meat is very tender.

Remove pork from pan and set aside 30 minutes. Pour pan juices into a bowl and skim off fat (or refrigerate until fat hardens, then remove fat and discard). Set aside; do not clean pan.

Preheat broiler. Remove strings from pork and return pork to pan.

To make glaze: In a bowl, stir together sorbet, tangerine juice, brown sugar and lime juice. Spread pork with glaze and broil about 5 inches from heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove roast to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. Add pan juices to other reserved juices and reheat in a saucepan.

Thinly slice pork roast and arrange on a platter. Drizzle with some of the hot pan juices; garnish with orange slices and chopped cilantro, if desired. To serve, place a slice or two of pork on a lettuce leaf, top with salsa, roll up and eat.

Posted by beachlily "Whether or not you prefer convection, the problem I see is that convection runs 25 degrees lower than the set temperature. So if a roast is convectioned at 285, then the food is actually cooking at 260 degrees. Personally, I would like to see the temperature in the same range Tricia cited."

I am not sure convection actually runs 25 degrees lower than set temperature. If the temperature is controlled by the internal thermostat, it makes no difference what the heating source is, it will always keep that set temperature. However, it is often recommended that you set the temperature lower than the recipe calls for because convection heats quicker and more evenly.

Posted by triciae "Why would somebody use convection to braise? It's covered. Convection is to circulate air. I don't understand how circulating air will make any difference to a tightly covered LC Dutch oven? Am I missing something? /t "

Yes, you can use convection to braise even it is covered. However, it will have no benefits that convection typically offers.
As a matter of fact, I don�t understand why braising in a covered cookware in any oven to begin with. It will make no difference to what is being cooked. Once it is covered and boiling starts, the food inside will always just be 212 degrees. It will be the same if you cook it on a stove, except you use much less energy not having to heat up the whole oven.

What I find interesting is the recipe which calls for braising with a bead of dough to seal around the cover. I don�t quite understand the theory what that is suppose to do. It does not build up pressure inside to raise the temperature for cooking because for a 12 inch cooker, the cover will have to take over a 100 lbs pressure pushing up if there is just one PSI. The dough seal will never be able to hold the pressure. Just for information, the pressure inside a pressure cooker of the same diameter will have over 1,600 lbs pushing the cover.

dcarch

I don't know about your range, but my Kenmore convection range (1 yr old) DOES reduce the temperature. I had problems with the range when I got it, so I tested the time it took to get to temperature on different settings. The Convection Bake never got to 375 degrees--it stabilized at 350 degrees, although the readout says 375. The A&E repairman chided me for not knowing this and told me it was in the manual. My old KitchenAid did the same thing. Apparently manufacturers think cooks are not bright enough to reduce the temperature for convection, so they do it for us.

The only way you would be aware of this is to use a thermometer and test the oven settings. I was highly annoyed when I found out. So now, I just boost the temp by 25 degrees to get the temperature where I want it.

cookie - thank you for the recipe - it looks delicious!

Ann_t I have cooked with convection for the last 25 years, the last 10 years with a Dacor which has 3 different convection settings. At some point about 15 years ago I evolved from slow cooking pork (Boston Butts) in a smoker to a crockpot then to the convection oven. I am sure part was due to working 60 hr weeks and a busy homelife :).
I know some think it "pointless" becasue the hot air never reaches the actual food, but it does reach and maintain a very even temp in the covered dutch oven, resulting in a beautiful golden color on the inside of the pot and the lid. I can tell when it is done by the color of the lid inside:). I also cook Guinness Stew (Beef Stew) and Duocanoe's pork stew on Pure convection in the same Dutch oven.
The results are consistent and the meat always tender & delicious.

My oven tends to run hot as well, when I convert standard baking temps, I usually adjust more than 25 degrees. The 285 is 285 - the oven doesn't make a 25 degree adjustment from where it is set.

My oven has a convection roast and convection bake. So automatically it reduces it for baking but stays the requested temperature for roasting.
"The A&E repairman chided me for not knowing this and told me it was in the manual". Manuals are for geeks - that's why I make my husband read them. ha ha. Really, I only go to them as I need them. And, I often get lectured by my geek, I mean husband, to read them.

Magothyrivergirl, you should get that same beautiful golden colour on the inside of your dutch oven and lid using your regular oven settings.

Cookie, I thought it was only men that didn't read manuals. LOL!

Ann

"Magothyrivergirl, you should get that same beautiful golden colour on the inside of your dutch oven and lid using your regular oven settings."

I have exactly the same result on the inside of my LC Dutch Oven using regular oven settings.

Alexa