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I picked up a pork sirloin roast yesterday, it's a little over three pounds. I've never cooked one of these before and I am not sure what to do. My seasoning plan is salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary, and I might poke a couple holes for cloves of garlic as well. My cooking plan is 8+ hours in the crock pot on low, with about an inch of water in there. Will this turn out OK? I'd like a tender and moist result, obviously. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

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  • For what it's worth, the roast I have is short and fat. As opposed to being long and thin, like some other "tenderloin" roasts I saw. Feb 16, 2011 at 19:12
  • Some that posted replies to this are confusing pork LOIN and SIRLOIN. The LOIN has less fat than the SIRLOIN, and can dry out easily.
    – user28966
    Oct 29, 2014 at 15:12

15 Answers 15

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I don't think a pork sirloin roast will stand up to that kind of cooking very well. That is a very lean piece of meat, which does not lend itself to long cooking times at low temperatures. That type of cooking is best reserved for cuts of meat with lots of fat and/or connective tissue. If you put a pork sirloin roast in your cooker for 8 hours on low, you're going to have one tough, dry piece of meat when you are through.

You would be better served by cooking it in the oven at higher heat, for a relatively short period of time, like 400F for an hour or so. Bear in mind, you're not going to get to a fall-apart tender state with a sirloin roast. This isn't a pork butt with which you're dealing, which you'd take up to an internal temperature of 195F or more. Rather, you're going to want to target the safe temperature, and no higher. You want the meat to be juicy. Cut into thinner slices to achieve maximum tenderness.

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The cooking technique you are describing, braising, is good for meat that would otherwise be tough, with a lot of connective tissue, such as a shoulder roast. When you try to braise meat which is low on connective tissue, such as the sirloin, you risk drying the meat out.

I would recommend roasting instead. If you have a roasting rack (or a metal cookie rack, anything to elevate the meat and provide circulation), place the pork on the rack with a tray underneath to catch juices. (if you don't have a rack, no big deal). Preheated to 400 degrees; this high temperature will give your meat a nicely browned exterior. Immediately turn the heat down to 300 (or lower if you have time). Every half hour, turn the meat on the rack and baste the meat with the juices. Turning it will keep the juices distributed inside.

When your meat is finished (as decided by a thermometer), bring it out of the oven to rest for at least 30 minutes. Turn it every 5-10 minutes. While the meat rests, turn your juices into a nice pan sauce.

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I agree. Roasting in a conventional oven is probably your best option. Keep in mind that a roast of that size could take a couple of hours to cook. Also, you'll want to baste it quite frequently - maybe every 15 mins or so. The last time I made a pork roast I basted with butter and whole grain mustard.

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One of the best things to ever happen was when the USDA finally lowered its recommended internal temp for pork chops and roasts to to a minimum of 145F. YAY! That's medium rare! So it's really unnecessary to do a low, slow and moist method for a lean cut like the sirloin. Save your crock-pot for cuts like the shoulder, which will benefit much more from long, slow cooking because of all the fat and collagen.

You can get downright quick with sirloin, and still have tender, luscious meat.

Here is a great chart with guidelines for every cut of pork:

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I put the pork sirloin roast in my cast iron dutch oven with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Then I cook it on 250 for about 2.5-3 hours. It is fall apart amazing, and so tasty. Better than a pork loin (more flavor and juice).

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Heat the oven to 325ºF (162ºC) with a little water in bottom of the roaster (i.e. the pan used for roasting). Cover and roast, calculating roat time with f30 minutes per pound. Married 51 years...have been doing my roasts this way all my life and never had a failure!

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I wash my roast in cold water, let dry a minute or two, then place it on an aluminum foil lined lasagna pan. I do not put any rub or flavoring on the meat. If there is any visible fat, I put that side up. I loosely cover the pan with another piece of foil. I preheat my convection oven to 300. When ready I place the pan in the oven. After 45 minutes, I turn the meat over and leave the aluminum top tented only above the meat. I cook it for another 45 minutes. My roast always comes out with just a touch of golden brown and tender. I let it stand for about 20 minutes and then slice it into 1-inch rounds end to end. We add spices to the meat if desired at the table. We love lemon zest, light clarified garlic butter of BBQ sauce. We serve this as a main meal on day one; then as pulled pork sandwiches on day two. Yummy (very easy and fool proof…always good)

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We had a 10 lb sirloin. Cut in half. Injected with a mixture of apple juice, brown sugar and molasses. Then heavily coated with coarse kosher salt, lightly sprinkled with garlic powder and just a little pepper, Smoked for 5.5 hours on Apple wood chunks. At 200°F over tin foil. The fat side up over the foil keeping the meat in the juices. So awesome. Big hit! Love my little smoker.... enjoy

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I think oven at 400 for 15min then turned down to 350 then add slits and baste with saucy susan garlic and even a little soy sauce but rubbed first with veg oil

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I cooked a 4.5 pound pork sirloin pork roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, then turned the temperature down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for two more hours. Came out amazing!

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I cooked a 3lb pork sirloin roast for the first time today and I loved it. I saw the above advice not too cook it in a crock pot but I was already 3 hours into it and figured it was too late. It turned out wonderfully after 7.5 hours of cooking. I fully submerged it in liquid made of chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, Powdered onion soup mix, and chopped (fresh) garlic and chopped (fresh) jalapeños, and olive oil. Just didn't want people to be scared to use the crock pot (I think the fully submerged part is the most important). Oh! And I let it rest in a cool ceramic dish with a lid for about15 mins before cutting and serving.

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I cooked a 3.5 seasoned pork sirloin for a little over an hour in a 425 degree oven. Covered it with foil the first 15 minutes, then uncovered for the rest. It got rave reviews, yet so easy. Pared it with corn, baked potato and homemade garlic bread. Super easy and super good.

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If you'd like to try something different, the Szechuan recipe for Double Cooked Pork is a particular favourite of mine.

Dowse the joint of pork in boiling water for two minutes, drain and pat dry. Prepare a basting fluid with mushroom soy sauce, rice wine (dry sherry will work as well), star anise, and chilli oil. Then cut the pork joint into medallions half an inch thick and brush with the basting fluid. In a flat bottomed pan, put a little groundnut oil and bring it to 180 C. Place the pork medallions in the pan and fry for 3 minutes each side. Serve with steamed rice, broccoli, snow peas, and french beans.

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If you want it to be even more juicy, brine it!

Just get 8 cups warm water, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup salt and whisk it to dissolve. Let the pork roast sit in this solution in the fridge, covered for 6-8 hours and then remove and pat dry. Then cook as you normally would, the result will be much more succulent.

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I do mine in a rotisserie. Perfect.

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    This isn't much information to go on. Care to share at least the time and temperature you would use for a three pound pork sirloin? Jan 2, 2013 at 20:18

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