Crown Roast Pork with Persimmon, Dandelion & Pomegranate
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entrees
Recipe via Chris Cosentino & 7x7
Author:Ingredients
- 1 rack of pork, 8 bone
- 4 fuyu persimmons
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch rings
- 1/2 lb baby dandelion greens, mixed red and green
-
The Spice Hunter Black pepper, fresh ground
- Kosher salt
-
The Spice Hunter Turkey brine (follow recipe on the bag)
- 1 whole yellow onion, peeled
- Aluminum foil
- 2 sheets white parchment paper (for chef toques see how to make them below)
- 2 shallots, fine brunoise
- 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup pure olive oil
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- Kosher salt
-
The Spice Hunter Black pepper, fresh ground
For the sherry vinaigrette:
Directions
For the pork:
- If you can get your butcher to prep the rack of pork for you, that's ideal. If not, there are instructional videos on YouTube that will help make the written instructions clearer.
- Working between the first two bones, run your knife down the first bone, across the small space between the bones, and then up along the next bone. Repeat on all bones until all the meat from between the bones is removed. To clean, or "French" each bone, run a sharp knife along each bone, scraping the cartilage away until it is clean. Alternately, you can tie butcher's twine around the base of the bone, wrap the twine around your hand over a towel, and pull sharply to remove the remaining meat and cartilage.
- Lay the rack on the cutting board with the bones curved up. Cut a one-inch deep slit into the meat in between each bone on the rack. This will allow you to curve the rack into a crown. Stand the rack up on your board with the bones facing toward you. Curve the ends of the rack around the loin, forming a round "crown." Using butcher's twine, tie around the crown at the base of the roast, the bottom of the bones and the top of the meat, right where the bones are clean (bottom, middle, and top). Using your hands, mold the crown until you form a perfect circle.
- Place the rack in the brine for 12 hours, remove and let equalize in the refrigerator overnight.
- After brining is complete, preheat oven to 450 degrees with a rack on the lowest rung. Let the crown come to temp for at least an hour, then spray the bones with pan spray and cover with aluminum foil so they don't get too dark or burn. Take a long piece of foil, fold it in half, and place over the top of the bones around the crown. Peel a large yellow onion and place in the center of the crown, this will help it keep its crown shape when roasting, it will also be delicious.
- Place a flat roasting rack in the center of a baking dish. Scatter the rosemary on the rack and place the crown roast on top. Place on the bottom rack of the oven so the bones don't get close to the burners on the top. Bake at 450 degrees until golden all around, about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Lower the heat to 325 degrees. Continue to cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 135 degrees (about 50 minutes). Remove and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. This will carry over the pork 15 degrees to take it to an internal temp of 150 degrees.
For the salad:
- While the meat is resting, peel the persimmons and cut three of them into sixths. Sear the persimmons in a sauté pan over medium high heat to get a nice char; remove them from the pan.
- In the same pan, sear the yellow onion rings, charring hard. Flip them after 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the onions after 5 additional minutes.
- Take the remaining persimmon and shave with a mandolin or peeler into rings. In a mixing bowl, add the dandelion greens, pomegranate seeds, charred persimmons, shaved persimmons, and freshly charred onions. Season with salt and pepper. Dress with the sherry vinaigrette (recipe below).
For the sherry vinaigrette:
Place brunoise shallots in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for five minutes. Add vinegar and let macerate for 10 minutes. Whisk in the pure olive oil, then finish with EVOO. Season to taste.
To make the paper chef hats for crown roast bones:
- Cut an 8 1/2-by-11 sheet of white paper in half lengthwise. Fold each half again, in half lengthwise. Lay one piece of folded paper on top of the other, folded sides together. Holding them both together, cut strips on the folded side of the paper, approximately 2/3 of the way to the unfolded edges. Cut the strips to the same width as best as you can.
- Unfold each piece of paper and fold the opposite way. Fluff the cut edges to add fullness. Wrap one hat around each bone. You won't need the whole length to go around the bone, but continue wrapping it even when it overlaps. This will add more fullness to the hats. Fasten the bootie around the bone with a piece of double-stick tape.
Put it all together:
Remove the onion from the center of the pork and set aside. Place the crown of pork on a large plate or platter, remove the strings carefully. Place the dressed salad in the center of the crown if it cascades out, that's OK. Top each bone with a frilly hat and serve.
Recipe Note
Photo credit: Marc Fiorito, Gamma Nine Photography
Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device