A Life Well Seasoned: Crown Roast of Pork for Christmas Dinner

The end of the year brings too many events all at once. It's a busy time, to be sure.

First there's Thanksgiving and we're up to our elbows in turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, leek and sweet potato gratin, green beans (or was it Brussels sprouts?), and of course a pie. Or two.

Then there's the 30-40 people for the Christmas Ships Open House (and we cook a ham and a mac & cheese, others bring all sorts of good stuff). Then it's almost Christmas and Dorothy is baking five different kinds of cookies.

And then Christmas dinner.

This year we went with a Crown Roast of Pork from Better Meat. Dinner starts with oysters with a Meyer lemon mignonette, moves on to Pork with a sauce/syrup made from apple juice, served with green beans with mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and of course, stuffing. And Dorothy made a Yule Log cake.

Those damned oysters. See, it's traditional at our table to have oysters at Christmas and New Year's. And Dorothy has steadfastly resisted learning to shuck. And the oysters we get from Hama Hama Oyster Company are thick-shelled tight little buggers. They are the beach finished Hama Hamas. And I get all stressed out (wah-wah, I hear you).

I'm beat. Too much! Agh!

OK, take a deep breath. At least I didn't have to cook New Year's too. As a gift to Dorothy, we went to Lummi Island for the New Year's Eve dinner at Willows Inn and enjoyed the incredible bites that Chef Blain Wetzel and his crew (hi Nick and Wes!) put together. Of course, someone didn't make it to midnight in spite of the band playing for dancing after dinner, right under our room. Someone who will remain nameless.

But this post is about the Crown Roast of Pork. I've never done one before, and thought it was time.

Roast is out of the oven. Yum!

I looked at about a dozen different recipes and confirmed my plan would be just fine:

350°F Oven
Salt and Pepper on the roast
Aluminum foil wrapped around the bones that stick out of the top of the roast - to protect them from burning
Stuffing not placed in the center of roast while the roast is cooking - for the same reason I don't stuff a turkey (to get the stuffing at the center cooked, you overcook the turkey)

Into the oven for about 3 hours, turning it around in the oven at least once (start checking internal temperature at 2 hours, then again every 30 minutes). For the last 30 minutes, remove the foil (that's about when the internal temperature reaches 125-130°F). The roast is done when the internal temperature is 140-145°F. Remove roast from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 20-30 minutes before cutting. And please, get yourself a digital probe thermometer and use it.

And yes, 140-145°F sounds kind of low per USDA recommendations. But a funny thing happens when the roast rests. The internal temperature keeps rising. This is because the outside of the roast is hotter than the inside of the roast (the outermost layer may be 170-180°F or more, we're talking about that outside ¹⁄₈ to ¹⁄₄-inch, and the surface will be between 250-325°F - which is why it's browning and crispy), and that heat keeps seeping toward the center. The center of the roast will keep rising in temperature until about the time the entire roast equalizes in temperature, then it starts to cool - outside first. Of course. And no one has had trichinosis with commercial pork since the 1970s. Get over it. Final result will be somewhere between 150-160°F, and perfect if it hits 155°F.

During the resting period, the stuffing goes into the oven (recipe follows) and the apple glaze is finished (recipe follows).

See how simple it is? And it looks like crazy good, and your guests will think you're a brilliant chef.

Of course, you still have the green beans and mushrooms to do (sliced mushrooms sautéed in butter until leathery, then sprinkled with salt and drained on a paper towel, then sliced vertically into five slices; beans cut into 1-inch pieces, blanched in boiling salted water and then chilled in ice water until near serving time, then reheated with the mushrooms with a nice nub of butter); the mashed potatoes; the sweet potato leek gratin; the pies; the f-ing oyster shucking; the mignonette... You see why I'm exhausted? Agh! AND SO MUCH BUTTER!

Stuffing

1 loaf Macrina Bakery Guiseppe (1¹⁄₄ pounds) cut into ³⁄₄-inch cubes¹
1 pound sweet Italian bulk sausage (if in links, remove the casing and discard)
1 smallish yellow onion, chopped into ¹⁄₄-inch dice
2 smallish or 1 large carrot, peeled then chopped into ¹⁄₄-inch dice
2 stalks celery, chopped into ¹⁄₄-inch dice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 apples, skin on, cored, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
about a dozen fresh sage leaves, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1-2 cups low salt chicken broth (I make my own, of course I do)
salt and pepper to taste.

Brown the sausage in a large skillet. When the sausage is browned (and there isn't even a hint of pink anywhere, and it's sizzling hot like frying instead of steeping in water) add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook until the veg is soft. Add the butter to just melt and remove from the heat. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl, pour the sausage and vegetables over the bread, and mix well. Add the apple and herbs and 1 cup of the broth, and stir. Add additional broth in small increments until you like the consistency. I like mine a bit dry so I can get crunchy edges when it cooks in the oven. Taste. Add salt and pepper, and taste again. Repeat until you like the balance.

Place in a baking dish. Cook in a 350°F oven until completely heated through, about 30 minutes.

Cider Glaze

¹⁄₂ gallon real apple juice, and just apple juice (you might know it as "cider") ²
1 medium shallot, chopped
3 sprigs fresh sage
a good cluster of fresh thyme sprigs (about 10-15 branches)
¹⁄₂ cup apple cider vinegar

In a large pot, add all the ingredients and bring to a simmer. After about 30 minutes, strain through a fine mesh strainer, and return liquid to the pot (throw out the shallot and herbs). Bring to a light boil and reduce until thickened into an almost syrup-like consistency. Think Maple Syrup (real, not artificial, the fake stuff has thickening agents - yuuck).

For serving:

Remember to remove the strings holding the crown roast together. Really. No one wants to floss at dinner. Slice a chop out. Place some of the stuffing off-center on a plate, place the chop leaning up against the stuffing, placing it on the outside of the off-center stuffing pile (and put the other side dishes on the plate too, on the other, more empty side of the plate). Spoon about 1-2 tablespoons of the glaze over the chop. Serve.

Notes:

¹The Macrina Guiseppe loaf is a crusty Italian loaf leavened with biga (traditional Italian sponge starter) and made with unbleached flour. Substitute any really fresh crusty unbleached white loaf.
²In all the world except the US, Cider is fermented apple juice. And that's what it meant in the US too, until prohibition. And during our great experiment with trying to make people not drink, the meaning of cider shifted. See, small farms were still able to sell their apple juice direct to customers at the farm, and what they sold was fresh unfiltered apple juice (and of course spontaneously fermenting juice). And it was all called Cider. After prohibition, the name Cider was kept for unfiltered apple juice and we added "hard" for the fermented stuff. Use real apple juice, that is, unfiltered apple juice with no additives (no added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, ascorbic acid, xanthum gum, etc.).