oven-roasted pork loin with shiitake, onion, garlic and fresh tarragon

There is no oven temperature written down for this one, no timer you can set and walk away from with total confidence. You brown the pork, you roast it, and you lean on a thermometer instead of a clock. That kind of uncertainty is a small thing to carry on most nights, but on a day when you already doubted your own judgment once, it can feel like one more decision you did not want to make. Make it anyway. The thermometer will tell you the truth even when nothing else that day did.

Pork is where this dish gets its selenium, a mineral the thyroid needs on hand to convert its own hormone into a form your cells can actually use, which matters to more of us walking this path than most doctors ever ask about. Shiitake mushrooms hold their own B vitamins and a savory depth that makes the pan taste finished before you have added anything else.

Slice the roast against the grain, spoon the softened shiitake and pan juices back over the meat, and let the plate look as good as it smells. It is a plain plate: good pork sourced with care, vegetables softened slowly, a little broth, nothing performed about it. That plainness carries the whole meal on a hard night.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sea salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon solid cooking fat (such as lard, tallow or coconut oil)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 2 lbs boneless pork loin
• 1/2 cup bone broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, minced
• 1 teaspoon apple-cider vinegar

(No AIP swaps needed. This ingredient list is AIP Core and seed-free as written.)

Method

Warm the cooking fat in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until it softens and turns translucent, then stir in the minced garlic and chopped shiitake. Sprinkle in about half the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms release their liquid and begin to brown. Scoop the vegetables out and set them aside for now.

Pat the pork loin dry and season it all over with the remaining salt. In the same skillet, raise the heat a little and brown the roast on every side so it builds a deep golden crust. Return the softened vegetables to the pan around the meat, then pour in the bone broth and the apple-cider vinegar and scatter the fresh tarragon over the top.

Move the skillet into a preheated oven and roast until the pork reaches 145 F at its thickest point on an instant-read thermometer. (Estimated oven heat around 350 F to 375 F; the source did not list a temperature or a time, so check early and rely on the thermometer.) Let the roast rest for about 10 minutes before slicing so the juices stay in the meat. Spoon the mushrooms and pan liquid over each serving.

Instant Pot variation

Use the Saute setting to soften the onion, garlic and shiitake in the cooking fat, then set them aside. Brown the seasoned pork loin on all sides on Saute, pour in the bone broth and vinegar to deglaze, and return the vegetables and tarragon. Lock the lid and pressure cook on high, then let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes and confirm the pork has reached 145 F before slicing. (Pressure-cook timing not given in the source and untested here; start on the shorter side for a loin, which can dry out, and verify with a thermometer.)

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com*