Christmas Crown Pork Roast

Christmas Crown

Pork Roast

A celebrational feast! Slow cooked rack of pork brushed with a pear, brandy, lemon-thyme glaze and filled with a pear, pecan, Maple sausage, stuffing

Ingredients

Note: To save time, order a crown pork loin roast from your butcher already prepared/tied.

Flakey, sea salt

Black peppercorns

Large garlic cloves, whole (12-14)

(2) 6 to 7-rib rack of pork (bone in)

total 12-14 ribs

Mortar & pestle (for peppercorns)

Trussing needle

Cooking twine

Roasting pan with rack

Oven, meat thermometer

Pear Brandy Glaze

1/2 cup brandy

10.5 ounce jar pear preserves (Braswell's)

2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon finely chopped, fresh thyme

Zest of 1/2 lemon

Note: You will be using the reverse sear technique for this recipe, meaning the roast will be cooked at a low temperature and then after resting, it will be placed back in the oven at a high temperature to brown. This ensures a very moist/tender inside and a nicely browned caramelized outside.

Directions: Using a Boning knife, clean the bones, removing any fat or meat

from them, to make more aesthetically pleasing (Frenching technique). First remove the silver skin membrane from the underside of ribs using a paper towel to grip. Make a slice between each rib, so you can easily bend the racks to shape into a crown. You will also be placing garlic cloves in between. Repeat with the second rack.

Grind the black peppercorns in the mortar & pestle. Season both sides of the racks of pork with the sea salt and ground black peppercorns, rubbing the seasonings into the slits you cut. Lay the racks ribs side up, end to end and tie the two ends together using the trussing needle and butcher string (see video). Stand the roast up with the bones on the outside, curve/shape into a crown, then tie the ends together. Press a large, crushed garlic clove at the top part of each slit and then tie one more time around the whole roast, just under the bones. Preheat oven to 250F and place the roast on your roasting pan with rack. Place in the oven, adjusting the oven rack so that the top is about 7 inches from the heat element. Place the meat thermometer into a thick part of a rib, being sure not to be on or too near a bone, and cook until the temperature reaches 140F. Remove from oven and let rest 30-45 minutes. Prepare the glaze and stuffing while the roast is cooking.

Note: If you are going to make a sauce, drain off the drippings and reserve, before browning the roast to prevent over-saltiness.

After the roast has rested, remove strings, preheat oven to 500F and place roast back in the oven. Cook until the roast is nicely browned, 10-15 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through cooking. Remove from oven and brush the glaze all over the roast, including the center, starting at the top and working your way down. Place back in the oven to caramelize the glaze, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and zest more lemon all over the top and sides and sprinkle with fresh, finely chopped thyme. Add some of the stuffing to the cavity, topping it off with the browned top part of stuffing, then adorn/decorate with live thyme (or your preference) and serve on a decorative platter or cutting board. Note: A sauce can be made from the drippings by adding some unsalted broth to the pan, then whisking in a corn starch slurry.

Pear/Brandy Glaze:

Add the brandy to a small sauce pan over med-high temperature and reduce by half. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the pear preserves. Add the fresh thyme and lemon zest and whisk. Remove from heat and whisk in the white balsamic vinegar. Set aside until ready to use.

Pear-Pecan-Sausage, Stuffing

1 pound Artisan style bread slices, after crusts removed (I used 2 -12 ounce, Lewis brand Artisan bread loaves)

1 pound maple, pork sausage (Jimmy Dean)

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 large shallots, coarsely chopped, about ½ “ (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup small diced, celery

Salt & pepper

1 1/2 cups cubed pear, ripe (Anjou, about 1 1/2 large pears)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped, dried tart dried cherries

1 cup whole pecans, toasted, halve some of them

1/3 cup coarsely chopped, flat leaf parsley (Italian)

2-3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (not dried)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 "large" eggs, whisked (if eggs aren't large, use 3 medium)

Directions:

Cut the bread slices into medium to medium-large sized cubes and and spread out onto 2 large baking sheets. If you have two ovens, place each baking sheet in a preheated 400F oven and toast until golden and crispy, turning over, halfway through toasting. Remove from oven and let cool.

Note: Add only 1 cup of the broth initially, then add the rest if needed at the end of recipe.

Add the sausage to a non-stick skillet, break into bite sized pieces, brown over medium temperature and set aside. Add the butter to a large skillet and heat over medium temperature. Add the shallots, celery, season with some salt and cook, stirring often until onions are translucent and celery starts to soften. Add the remaining ingredients except the eggs, stir in 2 more tablespoons of butter and season with pepper. Add the toasted bread cubes to a extra large mixing bowl, pour the mixture over the top and toss well. Adjust salt & pepper seasonings, pour eggs evenly over the top and mix well, being careful not to break up bread cubes. Add the other 1/2 cup of broth if needed. Stuffing should be nicely moistened but not soaked. If you prefer a more binded stuffing, one more egg can be added but you may not need the additional broth. Spoon/pour the stuffing mixture into a buttered baking dish and bake at 350F in center of oven until nicely browned on top and a thermometer reads 160F.