Crown Roast of Pork

By dyannucci

amer test kithchen

Consisting of two bone-in pork loin roasts tied together in a round, a crown roast offers plenty of meat for a holiday crowd and a dramatic presentation, but its unique shape presents serious challenges to even cooking. The standard method (seasoning, brushing with oil, and roasting in a moderate oven) yields roasts that are overcooked around the outer perimeter and undercooked around the inner circle of the crown. For even cooking, we turned the roast upside down and started at a higher temperature, which allowed more air to circulate through the hard-to-cook center of the crown and better exposed the thickest part of the roast to the oven’s heat. Stuffing is a popular addition, but it was a major impediment to even cooking, so we opted for potatoes, shallots, and apples roasted in the pan alongside the meat. The apples came out of the oven too soft to serve, but we liked the fruity flavor they imparted to our pan sauce. Pureeing the apples into the sauce gave us both fruity flavor and a perfectly thick consistency.

Serves 10 to 12
A crown roast is 2 bone-in pork loin roasts, with the rib bones frenched and chine bones removed, that have been tied into a crown shape. This can be difficult to do, so ask your butcher to make this roast for you. We wrap extra kitchen twine around the widest part of roast to provide more support when flipping. Use potatoes that measure 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (8- to 10-pound) pork crown roast chine bone removed
• 2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed
• 10 ounces shallots, peeled and halved
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and halved
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

Step 1

Combine 3 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic in bowl; reserve 2 teaspoons for vegetables. Pat pork dry with paper towels and rub with remaining herb salt. Wrap kitchen twine twice around widest part of roast and tie tightly. Refrigerate roast, covered, for 6 to 24 hours.
2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Place V-rack inside large roasting pan. Toss potatoes, shallots, apples, 4 tablespoons butter, and reserved herb salt in large bowl and transfer to pan. Arrange roast bone side down in V-rack and brush with remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Roast until meat is well browned and registers 110 degrees, about 1 hour.
3. Remove roast from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Using 2 bunches of paper towels, flip roast bone side up. Add apple cider to pan and return to oven, rotating direction of pan. Roast until meat registers 140 degrees, 30 to 50 minutes. Place meat on carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Transfer apple halves to blender, and potatoes and shallots to bowl. Pour pan juices into fat separator, let liquid settle for 5 minutes, and then pour into blender. Add chicken broth to blender with apples and pan juices and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to sauce medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm. Remove twine from roast, slice meat between bones, and serve with vegetables and sauce.
CROWN ROAST OF PORK
When roasted directly on a roasting pan, the perimeter of a crown roast overcooks by the time the interior ring is done. Here’s how we solved that problem and produced evenly cooked pork.


1. TIE ROAST 

Using kitchen twine, make two loops around the widest part of the roast and tie securely to help the crown hold its shape when flipped.


2. SET BONE SIDE DOWN 

Place the pork bone side down on the V-rack and adjust the bones to steady the roast. Roast about 1 hour, until meat is 110 degrees.


3. FLIP BONE SIDE UP 

Using paper towels to protect your hands, flip the hot roast bone side up and set it back on the V-rack to finish cooking in a gentle oven.