Crown Pork Roast

Crown Pork Roast and Veal roasts are perfect for a holiday dinner. During the Festive December holidays I serve a roast duck and a crown pork roast on the same buffet table. Elegant and made simple when you have the butcher at Fresh Market prepare, you can stuff the crown roast with many different types of stuffing or use the spicy recipe below

This succulent cut, made from two pork loins bound together, makes a princely vessel for spicy corn bread poblano stuffing. To prevent your pork from cooking unevenly, cook the stuffing separately, and fill the crown just before serving.

Ingredients

For roast:

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (10-pound) crown roast of pork, rib ends frenched

For stuffing:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 large poblano chiles, seeded and diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

6 cups corn bread for stuffing (1 1/2 recipes) or packaged corn bread stuffing

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon hot sauce such as Tabasco

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Prepare roast: In blender, purée olive oil, garlic, shallot, sage, salt, and pepper until blended. Rub mixture over roast, concentrating on areas between chops. Transfer roast to roasting pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Turn roast upside down (rib bones down) in roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and roast until instant-read thermometer registers 155°F when inserted 2 inches into center of meat (do not touch bones), about 1 1/2 hours more.
3. While roast cooks, prepare stuffing:
4. In large skillet over moderately high heat, melt butter. Add poblanos, onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté, stirring, until softened, 7 to 10 minutes.
5. In large bowl, combine corn bread and sautéed vegetables. Add eggs, 1/4 cup chicken stock, cilantro, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. If mixture seems dry, mix in additional stock, slowly, until stuffing is lightly moistened. Press into 2-quart casserole dish. Thirty minutes before removing roast, transfer stuffing to oven. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.
6. When roast is done, remove from oven, tent with foil, and let stand at least 15 minutes (it will stay warm 1 hour). When stuffing is done, mound 1/2 on platter. Flip roast upright on top of stuffing. Fill center of roast with remaining stuffing. Slice at table.