Back to donabe cooking.
We got the bone-in kurobuta pork loin, also from McCall's Meat & Fish. They cut the individual slices from the big chunk for us. This time, I brined the meat overnight before cooking. My brine solution consists of 1.5 liters water, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup Kosher salt, 2 bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon black peppercorns. The brining can season the meat evenly and make the meat really moist and flavorful. After removing the meat from the brine solution, I just patted them dry, and they were ready to cook.
I used my super-versatile tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san" to cook the pork. I seared the meat with the olive oil until golden (about 4-5 minutes each side), before transferring them to another plate. Wipe the skillet, and heat some butter. Saute the asparagus with some garlic lightly, then I brought the meat back on top of the asparagus. Cover with the lid and the meat was cooked for another 4-5 minutes with the lid on over medium+ heat. Turn off the heat, and let the meat rest with the cover on for another 5 minutes.
The meat was so juicy and flavorful that I didn't even need any sauce for the dish. The tagine-style donabe, with its even heat distribution and FIR (Far-Infrared Radiation), sealed all the flavors in the meat and cooked it so tender. But it was also good with the pan juice or the simple squeezed lemon and Dijon mustard. I served the pork with multi-grain rice, cooked with the double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".
I love the simple delicious meal like this.
