Caribbean Jerk Pork

Have I ever mentioned that sometimes I read food articles that freak me out? And then I have a ridiculous reaction to them? Cause yeah...that happens. The reaction normally only lasts like uhhh 8 hours or so, but sometimes the articles really stick with me.

Examples: Articles on the fish in the Pacific that could be radioactive from the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. Stopped eating all Pacific fish (that lasted about 2 days, but I have kept away from tuna since).  Or watching a video on the horrible treatment of chickens being raised for slaughter (still haven't gotten back to eating chicken as frequently as before I saw that video. Seriously, it will burn your retinas). OR the best example--when I read Skinny Bitch and became a vegetarian (that one lasted about 4 hours until my dad grilled burgers for dinner).

Last week I read an article about how unhealthy store-bought marinades are. I've always known that they're not great for you, but this article really opened my eyes about the fact that they're actually pretty bad. Which is NOT good for me, since I rely on marinades A LOT. So this week I decided to attempt to make my own marinade. I succeeded pretty well, but man there were a lot of ingredients that go into a good marinade. I think I'll go back to marinating fish and just stick with low sodium soy sauce and some citrus juice--two ingredients are much better than the like 10 in this recipe. But the Caribbean Jerk marinade really did end up being delicious, so if you're feeling ambitious, I highly recommend attempting.

Caribbean Jerk Pork

Ingredients

Boneless pork loin

Marinade:

1 tbsp black peppercorns

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

2 tbsp salt

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

4 tsp minced garlic

2 bunches scallions, finely chopped

3-9 peppers, either scotch bonnet or habanero (I actually got scotch bonnet pretty easily at my grocery store), seeded and chopped

Zest and juice of 5 limes

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup dark rum

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all marinade ingredients. Place pork loin in the bowl and cover with shrink wrap (if you have a small fridge, like I do, you can also combine all ingredients and then place the pork in a plastic bag and pour the marinade over it, so it doesnt take up a lot of shelf space). Marinate for at least 2  hours and up to overnight.

2. Preheat your oven to 400F.

3. Remove pork loin from bowl/bag. Place tin foil on a baking pan (to make clean up easier) and put pork on top. Pour marinade over the pork. Cook for 20-25 minutes per lb. 

4. Remove from oven and slice.