Oven-Roasted Pork with Rhubarbecue Sauce

As you all know I’m a big fan of rhubarb. I wait for it to appear all year and when it finally does I cook up a storm with it. While I enjoy making sweet things like muffins or parfaits, I also adore making savory rhubarb dishes, mainly because no one ever expects them. When people think of rhubarb they almost always seem to think sweet. Sweet rhubarb dishes are so common in fact, that every time I buy a batch of rhubarb at the farmer’s market, the vendor always asks “you going to make a pie?”

Yes, rhubarb pies are very popular. But I don’t know why it’s all anyone seems to associate with the fruit. There are so many other options out there. As a matter of fact, did you know that I have never made a rhubarb pie? I’m just not a fan. When it comes to pie, I’d rather have peach or cherry or even apple. I guess I’d just rather do something a little different and this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens definitely fits the bill. I mean what sounds more enticing than a barbecue sauce made with rhubarb?

I knew the sauce was going to be both tart and sweet, just like the rhubarb itself. But because the rhubarb is mixed into my (or your) favorite purchased barbecue sauce, there’s a smokiness that can’t be beat. Add that to the fact that the pork loin is wrapped around several stalks of rhubarb, and you have a spring or summer entrée that will thrill all rhubarb fans (even those who believe that rhubarb was created just to make pie).

Oven-Roasted Pork with Rhubarbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds rhubarb, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup your favorite barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 2-3 pound boneless pork loin
• 2 stalks of rhubarb
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh mango, sliced

Directions:

Make the sauce:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place the chopped rhubarb in a roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Roast, uncovered, 30 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 4 minutes or until tender.
4. Stir in the roasted rhubarb, barbecue sauce, molasses, salt, ginger, cloves and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
5. While the sauce simmers, reduce the oven to 325°F.
6. Make a lengthwise cut along the side of the pork loin but don’t cut all the way through. Place the stalks and mango slices in the opening. Sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Tie the loin at one-inch intervals with kitchen string. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Place the loin on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush the loin with about half the rhubarbecue sauce and roast for 1 – 2 hours or until no longer pink in the middle. Let stand for 10 minutes. Top with additional sauce, slice and serve.