“Can I take a moment to talk to you about pork?”

“No, seriously, you MUST try my pork. But hurry up before I eat it all myself.”

“Umm, hello, I am still waiting for you to try my pork. Your LIFE WILL BE CHANGED!”

These are things I’ve actually said. I love this recipe so much that I have been accosting friends and coworkers with evangelistic zeal. I just believe in this recipe so much, so of course I want people to tell me how wonderful I am for discovering it  to try it, too. It comes from Ina’s newest cookbook, Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

I only acquired two cookbooks in 2014, and this was one of them. As I was wrapping my own present mid-December, I quickly peeked in the book (Ed’s present to me) and opened up to this recipe. No lie, I have made it six times already in the last month. My children DEMAND it, and that’s the best endorsement I can give.

This is a link to a video of Ina on The Chew along with this recipe. Please note that Ina strongly suggests making this at least once as written, and I’m all for obeying Ina, so click on the link for full instructions. However, I have also done this with boneless pork loin at 300 degrees in the oven for about four hours, and instead of wine, I used beer with good results. Of course, the Ina way is perfection, but the real magic is the rub/marinade/paste which is listed below. I can see no reason why it wouldn’t be crockpot friendly as well, just so you are sure there is ample liquid to avoid burning.

Ina’s Slow Roasted Spiced Pork Paste, to be rubbed on pork and may be refrigerated up to 24 hours
6 cloves garlic
1 large onion, quartered
1 jalapeno pepper, mostly seeded
1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Use a food processor to combine first six ingredients into a paste, then drizzle in vinegar and olive oil and process until smooth. Rub over all sides of pork, and slow cook using method of choice.