Roast Pork with Sauce Moutarde A La Normande

I got this recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  I love the way she gives a base recipe and then all the variations on it, but it took some getting used to not having all the ingredients at the beginning of the recipe.  It makes sense really, but it just isn't what I'm used to.  This is one of those amazing meals that you just want to lick your plate.  It is a bit time consuming and requires a bit of planning, but it is not a lot of active  time.  You start with the marinade. It is a spice blend you rub on the meat and let sit in the refrigerator.  I put it on in the morning and leave it until I start cooking dinner, but there was no firm time to leave it on.  Before you start cooking, scrape off as much as you can with a butter knife. Take your time and get it nice and brown before you put it in the oven.  Also, don't be put off by the... aroma of the vinegar reducing.  Its not pleasant and it will burn your eyes, but trust me, the final sauce is AMAZING!  I served it with creamed spinach and wild mushroom couscous.

Roast Pork with Sauce Moutarde A La Normande
      3 lb pork roast
      4 T  pork fat
      2 T  butter optional
      1    onion sliced
      1    carrot sliced
      2 ea garlic
      I bouquet garni
    1/3 c  cider vinegar
     10    peppercorns crushed
  1 1/2 c  whipping cream
      2 t  mustard dry mixed with an equal amount of water
      1  -2 tablespoons butter unsalted and softened
[Note: The marinade for the roast is (per lb) 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp
pepper, 1/4 tsp ground thyme or sage, 1/8 tsp ground bay leaf, pinch of
allspice and 1/2 clove  garlic minced.  A bouquet  garni is parsley,
thyme and bay leaf. ]
Preheat oven to 325.  Dry meat thoroughly on paper towels.  Place the
fat in the casserole and set over moderately high heat.  When fat is
almost smoking, brown meat on all sides.  (About 10 minutes) Remove
pork to side dish.  Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of fat out, or if it
is burnt, toss all and add the butter.  Stir in the veggies and the
bouquet,   cover and simmer 5 minutes.  Place the meat in the casserole,
fattiest side up, and if it wasn't marinated season with salt and
pepper and 1/2 tsp sage or thyme. Cover the casserole and heat it on
the stove until the meat is sizzling. Place the covered casserole in
the lower third of the pre heated oven and cook about 2 hours or until
a meat thermometer reads 180.  Baste the meat 2-3 times during cooking
Strain the meat juices into a bowl and degrease them. Pour the vinegar
and peppercorns into the casserole and boil until the vinegar has
reduced to about a tablespoon. Pour in the meat juices and boil them
down rapidly until they have reduced to about 2/3 of a cup.  Add the
cream and simmer for 5 minutes, adding salt to taste. Beat in the
mustard mixture and simmer 2-3 minutes more. Sauce should be thick
enough to coat a spoon lightly.  Correct seasoning.  Off the heat swirl
in the butter in bits and serve in a warm gravy boat.

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