There would be no celebratory meal in Romanian without a roasted pork steak. And there are several recipes, depending on what part of the pork you are working with. This year I decided to make a Romanian roasted pork leg joint recipe for Christmas, cooked with onions, garlic, and plenty of white wine. Initially, I wanted to make the classic pork shoulder steaks, but I did my shopping last minute and someone snatched the last piece from the supermarket fridge as I set my eyes on it. So I ended up buying a piece of boneless pork leg joint with a lovely skin on top. This piece of pork is lean but has a layer of fat just under the skin, which keeps the meat moist during the cooking process.
I served the roasted pork leg joint alongside a simple mashed potato and pickles – as the meat was the start of the dinner table. And it did shine at the main event!
The Ingredients for the Romanian Roasted Pork Leg Joint Recipe
In Romania, everyone has their own recipe for roast pork. I follow my mom’s recipe and cook it in white wine with plenty of garlic and fresh thyme. Speaking with my mom, she advised me to marinate the pork leg joint overnight, to infuse the meat with the delicious flavours of paprika, garlic, pepper, and salt. Besides these essential ingredients, I also used onions and vegetable oil. As you can see, this is a very affordable recipe, which doesn’t use too many ingredients.
How to Cook Roasted Pork Leg Joint
The first step in cooking this recipe is scoring the skin of the pork leg joint. This is an essential step if you want to serve moist and juicy roast pork. Then, make a marinade with the paprika, garlic powder, pepper, salt and vegetable oil, and massage it into the pork. Take your time.
Wrap the pork leg join in kitchen foil, and let it rest in the fridge, overnight.
Make sure to take the pork out of the fridge one hour before planning to cook it. The meat must reach room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, roughly chop the onions and the garlic, and place them at the bottom of a glass Pyrex type of baking tray. Add the thyme, wine and oil, and place the pork joint on top. Cover with aluminium foil, and bake for an hour and a half. After this time has passed, take the pork out of the oven and uncover it. Pour some of the wine sauce on top, and then put it back in the oven for another half an hour.
To get that beautiful, crispy crackling on top, at the end of the final half an hour, switch the grill on for 5 minutes.
Take the pork out of the oven, and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving it.
Serve it with mashed potatoes, with a few tablespoons of the wine sauce on top.
Notes and Tips:
- Don’t forget to score the rind of the pork leg joint before you rub the marinade into it. This step is essential to keeping the meat tender and juicy as it allows the heat to penetrate through the fat, melting it into the meat. If you don’t score the rind you risk ending up with a very dry piece of pork.
- Don’t check the internal temperature of the pork with a thermometer. If you poke the meat you are risking releasing the juices from the inside, which will lead to a dry steak.
- You can add an extra step to this recipe: searing the meat in a hot pan, before baking. I didn’t on this occasion.
- The baking time depends on the weight of the pork. Adjust accordingly.
Romanian Roasted Pork Leg Joint Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork leg joint mine was 1.2 kilograms
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
For roasting:
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 onions
- 1/2 bottle of dry white wine
- a few springs of thyme
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Make a marinade using the oil, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper and salt.
- Score the top of the pork leg joined in an x pattern.
- Rub the pork leg joint with the marinade very well using your hands, wrap it in foil, and let it rest overnight in the fridge.
- Take the marinated pork leg joint out of the fridge one hour before roasting, and wait for it to reach room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Roughly chop 2 onions and 5 big garlic cloves and add them to a Pyrex tray.
- Add a few springs of thyme, the oil and the oil.
- Place the pork leg joint on top, and cover it with kitchen foil.
- Bake in the oven for one and a half hours.
- Take the pork out of the oven, remove the foil, and pour some of the sauce over it.
- Then put it back in the oven uncovered, for another half an hour.
- At the end, turn on the grill for 5 minutes, to crisp up the crackling on top.
- Take the pork out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes, before starting carving it.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and pickles.
FAQ:
Can you reheat the roasted pork leg joint?
I wouldn’t recommend reheating this dish because it is pork. Firstly, it will dry out. Secondly, you will need to reheat it throughout, making sure the internal temperature of the pork reaches a minimum of 74 degrees Celsius. If you do wish to reheat, do it at a low temperature and add water in the pan, for moisture.
How to store the leftovers?
You can store the leftovers in the fridge, wrapped in kitchen foil, for a maximum of 3 days. Make sure you refrigerate the roasted pork within 2 hours after you’ve cooked it. Do not leave it at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
For more similar recipes, check out my recommendations below:
- Romanian baked pork steak recipe
- Romanian meatballs with sauce recipe
- Romanian fried pork ears recipe
This looks so good!
I’ve made this roast pork leg last weekend and it was such a hit with my family. I love that the meat was so juicy, it’s hard to get pork to be so tender.