America's Favorite Salad Dressing Is The Perfect Addition To Your Pork Roast

Ranch is the most popular salad dressing in the United States for good reason –it's endlessly versatile. Invented by a cowboy on a dude ranch, the dressing, made with buttermilk and mayonnaise — and seasoned with dill, chives, parsley, garlic, and onion – makes a great dip and can be substituted for mayo to boost a tuna salad sandwich. Indeed, try using ranch dressing to add deliciousness to your pork roast. Food Republic spoke to Chef Lukasz Toborek, Head Chef at Poptop Parties – the UK's leading party planning platform, who explained that you can use the popular dressing as a marinade, a cooking liquid, or a finishing sauce.

Toborek said, "What makes ranch dressing a surprisingly effective addition to pork roast is the balanced mixture of herbs and fat content in both the pork and the mayonnaise, which transfers those flavors very nicely." Since pork has a naturally mild taste, it pairs well with fruity and bold flavors, such as a fig-stuffed roast pork recipe – instead of cinnamon as a rub, ranch dressing blends beautifully with the subtle sweetness of the fig and the savoriness of the meat. "It brings that tanginess to the pork meat while balancing it out with the creaminess of the dressing, which doesn't overpower the whole dish," he explained. 

While pork is salted to add flavor, Toborek noted the creaminess and acidity of ranch dressing does the heavy lifting. As a result, "Ranch dressing is one of those additions that brings the whole dish together with that unique umami flavor."

However, adding ranch dressing to your pork roast isn't just about flavor but also fall-off-the-bone tenderness. "As a marinade, the acidity of ranch dressing will tenderize the pork," said Toborek. That's because the buttermilk contains enzymes that break down collagen and muscle fibers.

Ranch dressing also shines as a sauce. "If we use it as a cooking liquid, it creates that flavorsome sauce that we serve with pork," Lukasz Toborek explained. For example, you could cook your pork roast in a slow cooker with ranch dressing and cream of mushroom soup to create a rich, creamy sauce that pairs well with mashed potatoes.

Even if you decide not to serve your pork roast in a sauce, "all the liquid that is created in the process of cooking can be used as a delicious glaze, or of course, as a finishing dressing to complete and give freshness and creaminess to the dish," said Toborek. You could even thicken the cooking liquid to make a zesty homemade gravy. Whisk together one part flour with one part melted butter to form a roux, then slowly add the cooking liquid until it thickens nicely.

Lastly, Toborek said to avoid high temperatures. Ranch dressing contains dairy, which will curdle if it gets too hot. For this reason, Toborek said, "Cooking [your pork] low and slow will work the best as it will nearly dissolve and blend into a braise base."

That said, if your sauce curdles, it's not the end of the world. Toborek explained that you need to whisk (or blend) the cooking liquid with some cream or butter. This will emulsify into a deliciously creamy sauce that you can then use to finish the dish.