This transforms a pork loin into something worthy of serving to company or special enough for your holiday menu, but it's so easy you won't believe it! This is also a relatively low fat recipe, believe it or not with not very many ingredients! Usually, anything with gravy, that is not the case! I like this cooked in the oven, but you can use your slow cooker also with some adaptation, I will give those instructions at the end.
Here is what you will need:
3-5 lb. pork loin
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 (10 3/4) oz. can cream of chicken with herbs soup (I used Campbell's)
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced (I use a white button mushroom)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
3 cups water
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
Place the pork loin in a roasting pan or heavy baking dish! If you spray it with some nonstick spray it cleans up easier. Sprinkle with the seasoned salt, black pepper and garlic. Spoon the soup over the top of the pork loin. You can substitute cream of mushroom soup or plain cream of chicken soup, but the cream of chicken with herbs gives the gravy a nice flavor!
Place the diced onion and sliced mushrooms over the soup. Sort of press them into the soup so they stay on top for now. Sprinkle the 2 Tbs. of soy sauce over the mushrooms. I don't add a lot of salt to this recipe, because the salt in the soup and the soy sauce is sufficient with just the 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt. Pour three cups water around the pork loin in the bottom of the baking pan.
Cover tightly with foil or if you are using a roasting pan, place the lid on and place in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours.
Mix the 2 Tablespoons cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl or cup until there are no lumps and it's smooth. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and take foil or lid off. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the pan juice around the pork loin. Turn the oven up to 450 degrees and place the pan back in the oven, uncovered for about 20 minutes. This will thicken the juice and make your gravy. It also sort of browns the top of the pork loin so it looks nice.
Plate the pork loin on a platter and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing in thin slices! Spoon some of the mushroom gravy over the pork loin and place the rest in a gravy boat or bowl! This makes plenty of gravy for serving on the side!
We like this served with mashed potatoes, but you could serve with rice or egg noodles also. If you have picky eaters, you can leave the mushrooms out completely and it's still delicious!
***Slow Cooker Instructions: Follow all of the same steps above, except decrease the water in the crock around the pork loin to 2 cups. Slow cookers do not allow for much condensation during cooking so you never need as much liquid. Cook on low for 8 hours.
An hour before serving turn the slow cooker up to high. Make your cornstarch slurry and whisk into the juices, cover and let it go for an hour on high. Whisk at the end to be sure it's smooth. This method doesn't produce as pretty a pork loin...can pork be pretty??? I think it can...lol!!! However, it tastes just as good!
If you are serving this for company or a holiday meal and want a pretty presentation, you can place it in the oven at 450 degrees to thicken the juices and brown the top like I did in the oven method. Some slow cooker liners are oven proof, but some are not, so be sure of what yours is before you put it in the oven at a high temp. You might need to transfer the pork loin to a baking dish if go to this trouble.
See, this is pretty pork!!!
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