From Hannibal · 2013-2015 · Reconstructed
Fireside Herb-Crusted Roast
Serve when
Serve simply, on two plates, in front of a fire — no garnish, no audience but the two of you.
In the series
Season 2
- S2E10 · ~00:24:00 Hannibal and Will share a quiet, fireside dinner of roasted meat; Will identifies it as 'long pig' rather than the trained pig Mason Verger offered
In the series
This is one of the show's quietest and most unsettling meals — no dinner party, no audience, just Hannibal and Will eating together by a fire while Will, almost conversationally, names what he's actually being served. The dish itself is deliberately plain: a simply roasted, herb-crusted cut, because the scene's tension comes entirely from the dialogue, not the plating.
Ingredients
Method
- Rub the pork loin all over with olive oil, then pack on the rosemary, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper, pressing the herbs into the surface.
- Sear the roast in a hot, oven-safe skillet on all sides until deeply browned, about 6 minutes total.
- Roast at 375 F until an instant-read thermometer at the center reads 140 F, about 25 to 30 minutes depending on thickness. The USDA's safe temperature for whole-muscle pork is 145 F, and pulling at 140 gets you there: the roast keeps cooking as it rests and reaches 145 F by the time you slice. Wait for 145 in the oven and carryover pushes it to 150-155 — overcooked and dry.
- Rest the roast for 10 minutes, tented loosely with foil, before slicing — the rest is what carries the center up to 145 F.
- Finish with a small pat of butter melted over the sliced meat and serve plainly, on two plates, without further garnish.
Substitutions
- Pork loin: A boneless pork shoulder roast works too and stays juicier over a longer cook, if you want to braise instead of roast.
Beyond the recipe
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