Note to self: When you plan a dinner party with relatives and the baking element on your oven burns out three days prior, change the menu. It sure made cooking this last Saturday quite a challenge.
In any case, this was the main dish (cobbled together from about 4 different recipes):
Spiced Brined Porkloin
Brine:
8 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 pound boneless pork loin (or two 2 pound loins)
Bring 1/2 of the water to a boil and stir in salt, sugar, and maple syrup until dissolved. Remove from heat and add remaining volume in cold water. Bring back to room temperature. Sumberge pork in brine and refrigerate 18-24 hours.
Spice:
Julia's Special Spice Blend (once again sans the savory and the bay leaf, which I just ordered from Penzey's yesterday)
Spices to add in equal amounts (1 tsp or 1 TBSP): ground bay leaf, cloves, mace, nutmeg, paprika, thyme. Spices to add in equal amounts (1/2 tsp or 1/2 TBSP): allspice, cinnamon, savory. Spice in double amount (2 tsp or 2 TSBP): ground white pepper.
Remove pork from brine and pat dry. Rub 1 TBSP Julia's Special Spice Blend into each side of the meat, and return to refrigerator for at least 4 hours for greater flavor.
Roast:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 1 TBSP vegetable oil and 2 TBSP butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the pork on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Place in roasting dish (fat side down) and roast for about 1 hour or until internal temperature of meat reaches about 150 degrees. Let rest 10 minutes, carve and serve.
Comments: My dad did a great job carving, and everyone was really patient with the fact that my oven took almost twice as long to cook the pork through as it should have. The pork was exceedingly tender and very tasty. I was very pleased with how it came out.