Oven-Baked Pork Recipe with Pickled Onion and Adjika

Name: Oven-Baked Pork Recipe with Pickled Onion and Adjika
Prep time: 4 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 5 h
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Pork (bone-in ham) 2 pieces; Sweet onion 2; Fresh herbs 5-6 sprigs; Adjika to taste; Salt, black pepper, allspice, paprika, aromatic herbs, coriander, sumac to taste

If you want to cook a big piece of meat quickly and well, the best choice is oven-baked pork. Pork bakes very well even without any preparation. It is fattier than other meats, so it always turns out juicy and tender. Honestly, a baked piece of meat doesn't even need a side dish, just a sauce, fresh herbs, pickled vegetables and bread.

As a rule, large cuts of meat are marinated before baking. The marinade is made of wine, acids, fruit and vegetable pulp, with aromatic herbs, spices and salt, onion and garlic, often honey or fermented dairy. Pork is quite delicate meat, and a liquid marinade doesn't always suit it. For example, when making buzhenina, a pork ham is soaked in a marinade or dark beer, but that is a specific recipe.

When cooking pork in one big piece, it is better to use dry marinating. The idea is that the prepared piece of meat is sprinkled with a mix of aromatic spices and the spices are rubbed in. Then the meat rests for a few hours in a cool place. This way the meat gets salted and soaks up the spices.

Ideally, portioned pork comes from a bone-in ham. Often the ham or shoulder is not used whole, but cut across the bone into slabs 3-4 cm thick. These pieces usually weigh 0.5-1 kg and are perfect for baked dishes. The meat should not be too fatty, though a thin layer of fat right at the edge is welcome. I read somewhere that this kind of meat is called “meat grade” pork.

Oven-baked pork cooks in dry heat. A golden crust forms almost immediately and keeps the meat juices in, which makes the finished meat incredibly juicy.

For baking it is better not to use “fresh-killed” meat: it is harder to cook and takes some skill. Meat that has not been frozen should rest in the cold for a day or two. Pork from a supermarket is usually “chilled” and works perfectly well for tasty cooking. To my taste, the best side for baked meat is pickled onion with fresh herbs, and the best sauce is adjika or tomato sauce.

More with ham

Buzhenina – Pork Roast Baked in FoilBuzhenina is a large piece of pork studded with garlic, rubbed with spices, marinated in dark beer and baked in foil. A juicy cold cut for a festive table.

Meat Solyanka with Beef and Pork BrothHomemade meat solyanka: a rich beef and pork broth with smoked bacon, ham, sausages, fermented pickles and tomato, served with olives, capers and lemon.

Prosciutto PizzaProsciutto pizza with mozzarella, tomatoes, marinated onion and capers. The Parma ham goes on at the very end, so it stays tender. Step-by-step photos.

Mimosa PizzaMimosa pizza is an Italian pizza bianca with ham, sweetcorn, mozzarella and bechamel instead of tomato sauce. Step-by-step recipe with photos.

Ingredients

2 servings

Pork (bone-in ham) 2 pieces
Sweet onion 2
Fresh herbs 5-6 sprigs
Adjika to taste
Salt, black pepper, allspice, paprika, aromatic herbs, coriander, sumac to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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In shops or at the market you can always buy good-quality meat suited to a particular dish. Ham or shoulder cut across the bone is always available. It makes perfect oven-baked pork. The slices should be 3-4 cm thick, the meat itself as lean as possible, with a thin layer of fat visible along the edge. For one serving, since the dish is served without a side, you need a piece of meat weighing 400-500 g.
It is better to make the spice mix yourself. Mix 0.5 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp whole coriander seeds, black pepper and allspice to taste, 0.5 tsp coarsely ground sweet paprika and a pinch of hot pepper. Add 0.5 tsp dried aromatic herbs. Grind the spices in a mortar fairly coarsely.
Wash the meat and trim off large pieces of fat. Pat the meat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the pork with the spice mix and rub it in with your palms. Put the pieces on a plate and cover with cling film. Put the plate in the fridge. Marinate the pork this way for 3-4 hours.
Prepare the pickled onion ahead of time to serve with the meat. To my taste, oven-baked pork goes wonderfully with pickled onion and herbs. It is best to use white salad onion: it is milder and less pungent and pickles well. Peel the onion and slice it into thin strips. Put it in a bowl, salt with a pinch of salt and add 0.5 tsp sugar. You can pickle the onion without vinegar, using the dry powder of the “sour” berry, sumac. Add 0.5-1 tsp sumac and stir. Cover the bowl with film and put it in the cold. The pickled onion will be ready at the same time as the meat. If the onion doesn't seem pickled enough, add a little wine vinegar, though you will hardly need to.
Heat the oven to 200-210°C. Take the meat out of the fridge and brush the spices off the surface so no big bits are left. Brush the meat with a little vegetable oil or lard. Put the meat in a baking dish of a suitable size and place it in the oven.
Oven-baked pork will take about 1 hour or a little longer. Like any meat, pork should be turned a few times. Also, if the meat starts to lose moisture, pour off all the liquid. Bake the pork until fully cooked and a dark golden crust forms. To check, cut into the thickest part of the meat.
Before serving, take the pickled onion out of the fridge and squeeze out the liquid that has collected. Chop the herbs: dill, parsley and cilantro. Mix the pickled onion with the herbs and arrange it on plates. Put a piece of oven-baked pork on each plate and add a mildly spicy tomato sauce with adjika.
Serve oven-baked pork right away, while it is hot and you can still hear it sizzle. Fresh bread and red wine go well with it.

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Recipe facts

Yield:	2 servings
Calories:	370 kcal per 100 g
Prep time:	4 hours (marinating)
Cooking time:	1 h
Ready in:	5 h
Category:	Main Dishes › Meat Dishes
Cuisine:	European
Rating:	4.4 (3)