Gordon Ramsay’s roast pork loin is a 1.3kg loin butterflied and stuffed with lemon zest, sage, parsley, and garlic, then rolled and roasted with crisp crackling on top. It serves 6 to 8 and takes about an hour and a half.
The recipe is from Gordon’s Sunday Lunch cookbook, where he writes “the secret to perfect crackling is oil, salt and heat.” He cooks the same dish on The F Word, calling pork loin “the most tender part of the pig.” Most recipe sites miss that he stuffs the loin from the inside.
The technique that makes this work is the butterfly. You cut a slit along the side of the loin and open it out flat, scatter the herbs down the centre, then roll it back up and tie it. The herbs perfume the meat from within as it roasts.
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Gordon Ramsay Roast Pork Loin
Course: Dinner, MainCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium6
servings20
minutes1
hour30
minutes405
kcal1 hr 50 min
A herb-stuffed loin from Gordon’s Sunday Lunch book and demonstrated on The F Word. Lemon zest, sage, and parsley go inside the rolled meat, while a high-heat blast crisps the crackling on top. About 405 kcal per serving.
Ingredients
1 pork loin, about 1.3kg (2 lb 14 oz), skin on
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Small handful of flat leaf parsley, leaves only
Small handful of sage leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, to drizzle
Directions
- Heat the oven and score the skin: Heat the oven to its maximum setting, about 240C (475F) or Gas 9. Score the pork skin in a criss-cross pattern at 2cm intervals. A very sharp craft knife works best on the tough skin.
- Butterfly the loin: Turn the loin so the flesh side faces up. Cut a slit along the side to open it out flat like a butterfly.
- Add the stuffing: Sprinkle the garlic and lemon zest over the flesh. Scatter the parsley and sage leaves down the centre. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roll and tie: Fold the loin back over to enclose the herbs, like an envelope. Secure with kitchen string at 3 to 4cm intervals.
- Prepare the skin: Place the loin skin side up in a lightly oiled roasting tin. Pat the scored skin dry with kitchen paper. Rub with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a few large pinches of sea salt.
- Blast then slow roast: Roast for 15 to 20 minutes until the skin is golden and starting to crisp. Turn the oven down to 180C (350F) or Gas 4. Continue roasting for 25 minutes per 450g, until cooked through and tender.
- Rest before carving: Rest the pork for 10 to 15 minutes. Untie the string and carve into thick slices.
Notes
- On The F Word, Gordon roasts the loin for around 45 minutes total and serves it slightly pink. The Sunday Lunch book cooks it longer, to fully cooked through. Both work for whole pork cuts if you rest the meat properly.
FAQs
How does Gordon Ramsay get the crackling so crisp?
In Sunday Lunch he sums it up in five words: oil, salt and heat. The skin is scored, patted bone dry, rubbed with olive oil and coarse sea salt, then hit with a blast of maximum heat at the start.
He writes that the high heat gets the crackling going, and the slow roast afterwards keeps the meat juicy. Wet skin is the enemy, so dry it thoroughly with kitchen paper before the oil goes on.
Why does Ramsay stuff the loin with lemon and sage?
On The F Word he says sage and pork go brilliantly well together, and the lemon zest adds a summery, zesty lightness that cuts the richness. The garlic and parsley round it out.
He calls the olive oil rub a blanket of aroma as it goes on. Stuffing from the inside means the herbs perfume the meat as it cooks, not just the surface. That is the step almost every other recipe skips.
Should the pork be pink or fully cooked?
This is where his two versions differ. On The F Word he roasts the loin for about 45 minutes and serves it slightly pink, saying it is best that way. In the Sunday Lunch book he cooks it longer, 25 minutes per 450g, until fully cooked through.
Both are safe for a whole loin if you rest it for 10 to 15 minutes afterwards. Pink gives you a juicier result, fully cooked gives you a firmer slice. Pick whichever you prefer.
How do I roll and tie the loin properly?
After you butterfly the loin open and scatter the herbs down the middle, fold it back over like an envelope. Gordon ties it with kitchen string at 3 to 4cm intervals to stop the stuffing escaping.
Tie it snugly but not so tight that it squeezes the herbs out. The string also helps the loin hold a neat round shape, so the slices look tidy when you carve. The fennel and star anise pork belly uses a similar scoring approach on the skin.
What should I serve with roast pork loin?
A loin this rich wants sharp and starchy sides. Apple sauce or port-braised red cabbage cut through the fat, and roast potatoes catch the pan juices. The herb stuffing already brings lemon and sage, so keep the vegetables simple.
Use the resting juices and any sticky bits in the tin as the base for gravy. A tray of duck fat roast potatoes alongside butter-basted pork chops works for a smaller crowd, same Sunday roast thinking. For a larger joint, stout-poached gammon uses the same crackling principles.
Does roast pork loin keep well as leftovers?
The meat keeps fine for 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container, and cold slices are excellent in sandwiches. The crackling is the problem. It goes soft within hours once it meets the moisture in the meat.
Store any leftover crackling separately, loosely wrapped, and never sealed tight. To bring it back, give it a few minutes under a hot grill. Reheating the sliced meat gently with a splash of stock keeps it from drying out.
