I’m not sure if “wet rub” is a real term, but it does seem to describe the technique I have been using for several years. I first heard about this idea when watching a Jamie Oliver cooking show on the the Food Network. It suits the way I cook because it is unfussy and uses fresh ingredients. Pork, beef, chicken seem to work equally well.
Here is a description of a pork roast I made for dinner a few days ago.
First, a trip to the garden for me, for you, maybe the market. I gather fresh herbs that suit my fancy that day. Today it was marjoram, thyme, and rosemary. On other days I can include by season or mood, sage, parsley, cilantro, dill, chives, or oregano. This is one of the wonderful things about cooking your own food, you get to adjust everything to your mood and preference.
I load the herbs into my mortar along with, kosher salt, pepper corns, and olive oil and grind it with the pestle until it is a wet green paste.
From here it is easy. Just rub the paste onto your meat. If you are roasting chicken be sure to rub it under the skin as well as on the outside.
And then just roast! I have found that a digital meat thermometer is the real trick to perfect roasts. After you learn proper placement you will not only be able to know when the roast is done, but also be able to hit your doneness of choice without fail. The other trick is finding days that I can both be home for the two hours prior to dinner AND not have a specific time to be somewhere after dinner. Finding those days has rewards, not only do we have a marvelous dinner that day but we will also have lovely roasted meat for sandwiches or even a second dinner with very little work.
