Pork Crown Roast brings family together
The highlight of my Christmas dinner was Pork Crown Roast. I've been wanting to make this impressive looking dish for years, but I never had the right number of people coming to Christmas dinner until now. I had nine people to feed this Christmas, and the pork roast, which serves 10, was perfect.
Wrapped in bacon and roasted for two and half hours at 350 degrees, the pork was moist and flavorful. It wasn't cheap to buy, but it was worth every penny. The roast coast about $50 and the fine folks at Fresh Market frenched the ribs before I brought it home.
I loved covering the little frenched rib tips with foil "booties." It looked so cute! But even its fine appearance couldn't compete with its taste.
There are a lot of ingredients in the stuffing, but the recipe is simple and easy to follow, even for a first-time crown roast preparer like me. I'm really proud of myself for trying out this new recipe with a house full of guests. Their praise made the effort worthwhile and my confidence has certainly grown.
The recipe I used, see below, was from our recipe newsletter that's sent to subscribers e-mails each weekday. To get recipes sent to your e-mail account, click here and follow the directions under "Recipe of the Day." It's free!
CROWN ROAST OF PORK WITH APPLE STUFFING
This recipe is a four-fork recipe from epicurious.com, originally printed in Gourmet magazine in October 2001.
INGREDIENTS
For stuffing:
6 slices firm white sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch squares
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery, including some leaves
1 1/2 lb. tart apples such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
For roast:
1 (9- to 11 lb.) crown roast of pork, rib ends frenched
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 lb. sliced bacon
For pan sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup red-currant or apple jelly
DIRECTIONS
Make stuffing:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Spread bread squares in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until dry and lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Leave oven on (for roast) and cool bread. Cook onion and celery in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Reduce heat to low, then cook, covered, stirring, until apples are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in bread squares, parsley, and chives.
Make roast:
Set oven rack in lower third of oven. Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan. Mound stuffing in cavity. Wrap tips of rib bones with foil to prevent burning, then wrap meat below bones with overlapping bacon strips, securing them with wooden toothpicks. Roast pork in middle of oven, covering stuffing loosely with foil after 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 155 degrees when inserted 2 inches into center of meat (do not touch bones), 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours total.Transfer roast to a carving board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature of meat will rise to 160 degrees; meat will be slightly pink.)
Make pan sauce:
Skim fat from pan drippings. Straddle pan across 2 burners and add water, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Pour through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids. Add jelly and any juices accumulated on carving board, then simmer sauce, whisking occasionally and skimming any fat that rises, until jelly is melted, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.Remove all foil from roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs.
This story was originally published December 27, 2010 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Pork Crown Roast brings family together."