Garlic Roasted Pork Loin with Crispy Potatoes & Cracklin'

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A small collection of unusually colored white moss was found growing vigorously on three large rocks at the edge of/ in the stream running alongside War Spur Trail in Pembroke, Virginia. It completely coated the upper surface of three adjacent rocks in a lone, isolated patch with no additional growth in comparable areas. The white coloration may have been a temporary seasonal effect, as each growth showed a slight green tinge at the base. However, the moss appeared vigorous with no apparent ill effects.

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Looking to eat affordably, maybe even feed a family, but still demand that your food has a face? Buying a roast is a great, old fashioned way to go and can offer some terrific savings over individual cuts of meat, all the while reducing packaging waste. Unfortunately our modern culture of belly bursting fast food and basil lemongrass quinoa smoothies has led many astray to the traditional virtues of bulk, roasted meat.

Well then world weary connoisseurs of carne, venture forth and let me show you the joys of a classically styled Sunday Roast with a trick or two up it's sleeve...

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Step 1: Marinate that Meat

Okay, meat is delicious, bursting full of complex, layered flavors subtly affected by the manner in which it was fed & raised, the care in processing, and a thousand nuances in its preparation.

En Sous Vide proponents and Foodies alike may argue that the only allowable flavorings are water, salt, and air. If you call yourself a Foodie, this tutorial is not for you. Eating food is a basic pleasure and requirement of life sustained by every heterotrophic organism in this world. You don't meet people calling themselves Airies or Sexies do you?

That said, there are ultimately only but so many types of meat you can legally eat in the good ole US of A. Beef, pork, chicken, lamb, turkey, ostrich maybe, stuff that floats/sinks/swims, and stuff that only Bear Gryllis and Fear Factor contestants eat. How do you keep from getting bored and eying up Fido and Mittens curiously?

Marination, that's right foodies. We add ingredients to food, deal with it.

My marinade for a 4lb pork loin:

2oz Chinese Black Vinegar: Do you like Balsamic Vinegar? Do you like Worcestershire Sauce? Then you need this in your pantry. It tastes like a 1:2 mix of each, is cheaper than either, and is made from rice and sorghum. Its great on sauteed mushrooms with cracked black pepper.
1oz Hoisin Sauce: One thing every asian cuisine ever has taught me is that pork loves sweet and savory, this sauce is both.
1 tbsp Rosemary: If you are roasting meat and not using Rosemary, you don't deserve your stomach.
2/3 tsp Salt: Ditto
1/2 tsp Cracked Black Pepper: Probably ditto
1/2 tsp Thyme: Also ditto

Blend to taste, tweak to your personal preferences, and rinse and marinate your loin overnight.

Disclaimer: no consumers were harmed in the making of this Instructable by paying extra for a rock salt grinder.