Our Christmas Mini Crown Roast of Pork

I am sorry to say, as I continue to add years to my life, doctors seem to take precedence over my blog entries, but I am now ready to pursue excellence in the kitchen once again.

This time we will enter the arena of upscale presentations by attempting the nearly impossible task of creating a MINI crown roast of Pork with only 8 ribs, Normally a crown roast consists of 13 to 18 ribs to attain a well-shaped and lovely appearing crown. However, with only two people in our house, it becomes a challenge to shrink everything we prepare down to servings of 4, taking into consideration the importance of “leftovers”. I assure you this was a daunting task but the end result was absolutely delicious and yes…we have an abundance of “leftovers”

The Ingredients I used were standard seasonings and thank goodness I was able to rescue some of our fresh herbs from the garden before the freezing weather took its toll.

Ingredients for the Pork:

4-6 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped.
4 or 5 stems of fresh Rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
4 or 5 stems of fresh Sage, leaves stripped and finely chopped
2 or 3 stems of fresh Thyme. leaves stripped
1 tsp.  Red pepper flakes
½ cup Olive oil
1 - 8 Rib Pork Loin Roast
Kosher Salt to taste
Butchers Twine for tying the roast. 

To make the pan sauce, you will need:

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Ribs of celery, diced
1 Sweet onion- diced
1 Fennel bulb-sliced and diced
1 Carrot halved and ¼’ sliced
4 cups Chicken stock
1 cup (+/-) Dry white wine
2 or 3  Bay leaves
 Kosher salt to taste

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Here’s the tricky part.  The membrane between the ribs must be slit so the roast can be curled around to enable it to stand upright. Be very careful not to slit all the way through as the ribs will then become unattached and the roast will fall apart. Also be aware the ribs must be curved outward at the finish.  By keeping this in mind, you will understand which side of the membrane to slit.

In a small bowl combine the garlic, rosemary, sage, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Sprinkle the roast with the salt and brush both sides with the olive oil/herb mixture.

Stand the roast upright and curl it around so that both ends meet and the ribs are curved outward. Tie the roast securely with two loops of twine and place the roast upright on a rack in a medium size roaster. Now would be a good time to cover the tips of the bones with foil to prevent scorching.

Place the garlic, and diced vegetables, the bay leaves and ¾ of the chicken stock and all the wine around the pork.  This will be the base for your sauce. While the oven temperature is at 425 degrees, begin to brown the meat for about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F., roast the pork for an additional 2 1/2 hours, basting several times and rotating the pork each time you baste. If you need more liquid, add the remaining chicken stock.

With an instant read thermometer check the roast about the time you last baste it and when the thermometer reads 140-145 degrees your roast should be done about medium. Remove the roast from the oven, transfer to a serving platter, cover loosely with foil and let rest for about 25 minutes. It will continue to cook while resting.

Bring the pan juices to a boil, taste, re-season if needed, and if you wish to have a smooth sauce, remove the bay leaves, place the vegetables in a blender and pulse a few times.  This will provide you with a smooth, delicious sauce.

Now it is time to remove the twine, cut between the ribs to create chops, top with pan sauce and enjoy.

Clark Williams

Side note: If the task of curling the roast becomes too laborious or frustrating, simply place the entire roast lengthwise in a roaster and continue with the cooking instructions.

The end result will look different but will taste just as good.

Summer Berry Trifle Recipe

Summer Desserts

In a recent Blog I touched on Lemon Curd, and other related products having been created using the herbs and fruit from my garden. Today I have a recipe for you as well as a follow up note regarding the freezing of my lemon curd, not knowing if it would separate or turn to mush upon thawing.  I am happy to report the lemon curd held up very well through the freezing and thawing process and is featured in this recipe, as are my blackberries

Now that the sun is warming the Blackberry vines, it prompts me to begin creating some of my favorite desserts, one of which I will share with you. This recipe is designed for a medium sized Trifle bowl but I have chosen to use personal sized glasses, as demonstrated in the picture, simply because there are only two people in our house and we love leftovers, therefore the personal size size satisfies our needs.


Berry Trifle

Ingredients:

½ pint              Blueberries

½ pint              Strawberries

½ pint              Blackberries    (Raspberries are optional)

½                     Lemon, juiced

1/8 cup            Sugar               (plus more if the sauce is too tart)

¾ tsp.              Cornstarch

Lemon Cream:

1/2 pint            Heavy whipping cream, chilled

½ T.                 Sugar

¼ tsp               Vanilla

½ Jar               Lemon curd (approx 6 oz).

½ (or less)      Store bought pound cake cut into ½ inch slices

Method:

Place berries in a large bowl and sprinkle with ½ the lemon juice.  Lightly toss.

Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch and remaining lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down and give up their juices, about 3 minutes. Remove the berries from the heat, set aside and let cool. The mixture will thicken as it cools.

In a clean, chilled, stainless steel bowl, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla to a soft peak.  Put the lemon curd into a second bowl and fold in a small portion of whipped cream to loosen the curd. Fold in the remainder of the whipped cream and continue to fold until the curd and whipped cream are thoroughly blended.

To assemble the trifle, spoon a layer of the lemon cream into individual serving glasses, add a layer of cake, breaking the slices into pieces to fit, then soak the cake with a layer of berries and their juice.  Keep repeating this process until the glass is full, then top with whipped cream, garnish (if you desire) with slices of strawberries, a sprig of mint and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 3 to 4.

Some side notes to consider:

The use of pound cake is an easy way cut corners where time is an important factor. I prefer Sara Lee brand.

As for the berry preparation, occasionally I will cook the berries a bit longer, transfer them to a blender, and blend until all the berries are in semi liquid form, strain to remove the seeds, which will result in a lovely smooth coulee style sauce. This method provides an option to having to deal with a surplus of seeds.

Doubling the recipe is no problem particularly if you are going to serve a group.

Clark Williams

Personal Chef