Step 1

Preheat oven to 425F and spray a shallow roasting dish or sheet pan well with cooking spray; set aside.

Step 2

Pork Loin - Lightly pat dry the pork loin with a paper towel. Do not remove the fat cap!

Step 3

Gently score the top of the fat cap in a criss-cross pattern with a paring knife, as shown in the step-by-step photos in the blog post. This scoring helps give the brown sugar glaze a place to go and cling to.

Step 4

Evenly drizzle the pork with the olive oil and rub it uniformly all over the pork.

Step 5

Dry Rub - In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients, and mix with a small spoon to combine.

Step 6

Evenly coat the pork all over with the dry rub, patting and packing it on so it adheres.

Step 7

Roasting #1 - Place the pork in the prepared baking dish or on the sheet pan with the fat cap side up, and roast for 15 minutes. While the meat roasts, move on to step 8.

Step 8

Brown Sugar Glaze - While the pork is roasting, to a small saucepan, add all the ingredients, and heat over medium-low heat for about 90 seconds, whisking constantly, or until the sugar dissolves and a glaze forms. Tips - A glaze will always seem thinner in the saucepan and while it's hot than when it cools, so make sure not to overheat it. However, if you do and it's a little too thick, that's ok because it will still adhere to the pork and will caramelize as the meat roasts. If you love glaze like I do, consider making a double batch of the glaze. Use half to be spooned over the pork as indicated in the recipe, and the other half is great over sides like roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and more.

Step 9

After 15 minutes of baking, turn the oven temp down to 375F.

Step 10

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully spoon the glaze over the top. If some drips off, that's okay, but try to keep it at the top, re-spooning it up as best you can.

Step 11

Roasting #2 - Continue to roast for another 40 minutes, or until pork is done. Make sure you turned your oven down to 375F.

Step 12

Doneness TIps - I highly recommend checking the internal temperature of the pork with an instant read digital thermometer and do not guess. Pork is a protein that you cannot eat even a little raw, however overcooking it will result in a very dry and tough piece of meat that's undesireable. To avoid guesswork and for the best results, use a thermometer. Boneless pork loin is considered safe at 145F. However, you can pull the meat out when it's about 135-140F. The internal temp will continue to rise as the meat rests for about 5 to 10 minutes. Do not rush the resting process. This is important for both the internal temp to come up to a safe temp, and for the internal juices to redistribute before slicing and serving. Serve the pork loin with your favorite sides. I listed a dozen of my favorites in the blog post with recipe links.