POrk-Crown Rib Roats
I love both the sounds of the macaroni salad, and the stuffed green peppers. Happily, I won't have to share the peppers as I'm the only one in the house that likes them (and I like them a lot). Tha macaroni salad, alas, I am diabteic and stay away from pasta (except whole-wheat) and potatoes (a terrible thing since I used to love both macaroni and potato salad).
I'll report back on the stuffed peppers.
Here's my entry, Smoked Crown Pork Roast.
Crown Roast
Alright, you on the left, tell me how you're going to cook this dish. Remember, this is an elegant one, so it must be done right. What's that? You don't have a clue? Yes you do. You just need a bit of coaching.
The crown rib roast is the best tasting, most succulent piece of pork I have ever cooked, or eaten. It is beautiful to the eye, and to the mouth. This roast is made from the baby-back ribs. The ends are "frenched", that is, the small eye of meat, and the meat between the bones is removed from the bone end. That meat can then be used for sausage, or stuffing, or kabobs, etc. When purchasing the ribs, ask your butcher to leave the tenderloin attached. This will give you much more meat than ordinary baby-back ribs. Also, when the meat is formed into the classic Crown shape, the loin will act as a base to hold in the stuffing.
Most butchers will French the ribs for you upon request, though the butcher I went to didn't. After I found out how easy the process was, I was glad he didn't. I now have about three pounds of meat and bone with which to make a grand pot of baked beans, bean soup, and stir-fry (not all at once of course).
This roast is best when cooked in a smoky barbecue, though it is quite good roasted in the oven. Usually some kind of rub or marinade is used to treat and tenderize the meat starting the day before. Then while cooking, a glaze is brushed over the meat. The center is filled with fruits, farce meat, or stuffing after the crown roast is placed on the platter. Colorful vegetables placed around the roast complete the dish.
The following is just one way to prepare this elegant roast. You will undoubtedly find your own way to flavor your roast to perfection.
Ingredients:
Rack of Baby-Back Ribs with at least 16 bones. The chine bones should be removed.
3 cups Mandarin Orange slices
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper, coarse grind
1/2 cup Sugar, or Sweetener
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium cooking Onion, diced
1 orange Bell Pepper
1 yellow Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
2 whole Cooking Onions
1 cup Brown-Rice
2 cups Water
3 fresh Red Tomatoes, uncooked
5 whole Carrots
1 cup cold Water
1 bucket of water soaked hardwood (I use maple and white birch).
Prepare the meat by laying the ribs on a cutting board with the meaty side down. Slice the meat from between the bones until reaching the thick loin muscle. Cut the small eye of meat from the bone top as well. Turn the meat over and remove the strip of fat and connecting tissue lying over the top muscle. Then, fillet that muscle from the loin. You will end up with a long and slender muscle containing small bones. Trim the ends of the rib rack so that when it is stood and formed into the crown, the end ribs will be about 1/2 inch part. Reserve the trimmed meat and connecting tissue for later meals.
Place the rice and remaining water into a covered pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to simmer, add 1/2 tsp. salt, cover, and let cook for thirty minutes. Remove from the jeat and add a touch of garlic powder and the mandarin oranges. Dice one of the onions and mix into the rice. Cover refrigerate. This is your stuffing.
Mash two cups of the oranges in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Add one cup of water, 1/2 cup sugar or sweetener, the garlic, remaining diced onion, salt, water, and pepper. Put into a very large plastic bag along with the ribs. Remove all air so that the ribs are completely covered by the marinade. Place in the refrigeratorand let sit overnight.
Next day, remove the ribs from the marinade and place into a lightly greased, heavy, cast-iron frying pan with a metal handle. Pour the marinade into a w quart saucepot. Bring the marinade to a boil and set aside.
Bank the charcoal on either side of your grill, leaving a four-inch space between banks. Fire up the grill for indirect heat. Let sit until the charcoal is red hot. Stand the ribs on end, meat side down, and form the rack into a circle with the meat turned in. Tie the end bones together with butchers cotton string, and wrap the entire roast with a turn of string. Place into the cast-iron pan.
Put four or five chunks of hardwood on each charcoal pile. Place the grill in place, and center the rib pan between the charcoal piles. Cover the grill and close the vents halfway and let cook for 1 hour.
Remove the lid and brush the roast with marinade. Put aluminum foil hats on the bone ends. Replace the lid and baste every fifteen minutes for the next half hour. Check the meat thermometer. When it reads 150', remove and fill the inside with the rice/mandarine orange stuffing. Put the lid back on and cook for another twenty minutes.
Brush all veggies , including the onions (peel them first), with cooking oil and lightly salt. Remove the barbecue lid and arrange the veggies around the fire. Add more wood if needed. Brush the roast with the cooked marinade sauce. Cover and cook for ten minutes more.
Remove the roast and place on a large platter. Let sit for fifteen minutes.
Place the colorful Veggies artistically around the roast and remove the string. Set a beautiful table and impress everyone with cloth napkins. Charge each member of your household $5 per plate and grin. You know your kidding. But do they? Muahahahaha.
Remove the veggies and place in a suitable bowl.
This recipe is from my cookbook "You Can Be A Great Cook With Pork", hence the extra verbage. I wish I new how to insert a picture of the finished dish in this post. I will try to cut and paste. Hope it works.
This is not really a beginner recipe. But then again, it's apparent that I'm not posting to beginners
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Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
