“BEREAVEMENT PORK” (so named because I got the recipe from the chairwoman of my church’s bereavement committee, often used to feed families the day of the funeral)

Use iron dutch oven with tight-fitting lid–recipe is for a 3-4 pound roast with a 4 qt. dutch oven.

Pork loin or pork roast to fit your iron dutch oven
Ground black pepper
Duke’s steak sauce (I use the reduced salt one, plenty salty)
Garlic cloves or garlic powder (optional)

Rinse and pat dry the loin/roast. Cut slits in the meat and insert garlic cloves, or lightly dust roast with garlic powder. Cover loin/roast thoroughly with black pepper; if it looks like too much, that’s about right. Place in dutch oven and cover with about 1/2 cup of Duke’s for roast; for pork loin, also add 1/2 cup of water.

Put in 325-degree oven for about 2 hours for pork loin, 3 to 4 hours for pork roast. The drippings make a great au jus.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Roughly equal amounts of potatoes, carrots, onions, and turnips to fit your iron roasting pan without being too crowded. Cut in equally sized pieces, salt and pepper to taste. Mince 1 to 2 cloves of garlic and set aside.

For a 11 x 15 roasting pan, use 2 Tbls butter and 1/4 cup olive oil, adjust accordingly for pan size

Put iron pan in cold oven, turn oven on to 400 degrees, and preheat pan. Take hot pan, add butter and olive oil until butter melts. (Hot pan–cold oil–food won’t stick.) Add garlic to oil/butter and stir until the garlic scent hits you. Then add in the veggies, stir to coat, spread out in pan, and return to oven. Bake for about an hour until veggies are lightly browned and knife tender.

(You could also add rosemary, or thyme, or smoked paprika, etc. for variations. Great with roasted meats.)