Crown Roast of Pork
Instructions:
Like a turkey, a crown roast can be stuffed with just
about anything
But since this meat is substantial, I keep the
stuffing light. (I cook it separately to allow it to crisp,
but you can put it in the center of the crown.)
1/2 cup dried tart cherries or cranberries
One 7-pound crown roast of pork, 14 to 16 ribs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 onion, cut into quarters, plus 1 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon leaves or
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
11/2 cups water or white wine, plus more as needed
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
4 cups bread crumbs, preferably fresh
MAKES: At least 10 or 12 servings
TIME: About 21/2 hours, largely unattended
- Heat the oven to 450 F. Soak the cherries in hot water to cover. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper and put it on a rack in a roasting pan. Toss the carrot, celery, and quartered onion with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and some salt and pepper and scatter them on the bottom of the pan.
- Mix the remaining olive oil with half the garlic and tarragon. Rub this mixture all over the roast, being sure to spread a bit into all the crevices you find.
- Roast the meat for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 F. Moisten the vegetables with a little of the water whenever they look dry.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and chop the cherries and add them, then add the bread crumbs, remaining garlic and tarragon, and some salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Put the stuffing in an 8-inch square or comparable baking dish in a 1- to 2- inch-thick layer and put in the oven. Cook the stuffing until it is crisp on top, then stir it up; repeat this process while you finish cooking the meat.
- Total cooking time for the roast will be about 2 hours or a little longer; its internal temperature (check it in several places), should be about 150 F. When it’s ready, transfer it to a cutting board and let it rest while you make the sauce. Lower the oven temperature to keep the stuffing warm (if the stuffing looks dry, baste it with some of the juices at the bottom of the roasting pan).
- Pour or spoon off as much of the fat from the roasting pan as you can without losing the darker juices. Put the roasting pan on the stove on 1 or 2 burners over mediumhigh heat. Add about 11/2 cups of water and cook, stirring and scraping, until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and press them into a strainer, adding any liquid you extract to the sauce and discarding the vegetables.
- Pile the stuffing into the center of the roast, then present the roast whole. Carve it, then serve with a bit of the stuffing, spooning a little of the sauce over it while passing the rest.