Poor Man's Crown Roast of Pork

My vintage cookbooks are filled with pictures of smartly dressed housewives serving a perfect crown roast of pork to her guests. Sometimes every bone is perfectly Frenched and topped with a white paper frill. The middle is usually filled with some sort of stuffing or perfectly arranged fruits or vegetables. Must be rough! In my lifetime I have yet to see a crown roast of pork in person. We just don't cook those things anymore. I suppose as it became more popular to entertain guests by eating out, cooking elaborate roasts and cuts of meat kind of fell out of fashion. Perhaps?

Pic from Williams Sonoma

These days a crown roast of pork will set you back about a cool $150 on the average. Not exactly budget friendly or something a busy family is likely to have on the dinner table. It's also way too much food for the two of us. It's definitely not in my budget, but that doesn't mean I can't wing it and come up with an equally delicious and almost as impressive alternative- the Poor Man's Crown Roast of Pork.

That's where pork ribs come in. I can get a couple racks of baby back ribs or pork spare ribs and stay close to $20 total meat cost and have almost as striking a presentation. This is not a quick weeknight meal, so keep in mind, you'll want a good 2 hours allowed for cooking.

Poor Man's Crown Roast of Pork

2 racks pork ribs

olive oil

desired meat rub (we like Feiny's)

1 cup white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 16 oz box cornbread mix or 2 Jiffy mixes

8 oz package fresh mushrooms

2 leeks

1/4 cup butter, divided

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

salt and pepper

The day before, or as early in the day as possible, bake the cornbread according to package directions. Cool and crumble and allow to dry a bit. You CAN use a homemade cornbread recipe if you prefer.

Mmmm cornbread in the cast iron skillet

Unwrap the rib racks and pat dry. If you prefer, pull off the silverskin from the back side and trim off any excess fat. Rub the ribs with olive oil, then season generously with the meat rub. 

To assemble the ribs into a crown, stand one rack on it's edge (grab a helper or balance on something heavy like a large can of juice). Thread some cotton cooking twine onto a large (huge, actually) needle; you don't have to knot the end. Stand the second rack up matching the ends (don't overlap them if at all possible, just butt up against the other) and attach them by "sewing" together with the twine and knotting the thread. Clip the thread and repeat 3 or 4 times. Now, bend the ribs into a "crown" with the curve of the rib on the outside and sew up the other ends the same way. 

If you don't have a giant needle you can overlap the ends and use metal skewers to hold the racks together (I had to this time because of course, couldn't find that needle!). Just be sure and remove before stuffing. I took a good look at the racks and put the thicker edge on the bottom for more stability.

The "shorties" trimmed off the end. Don't discard them-
throw them in the roasting ban with the rest of the ribs.

NOTE- If the racks of ribs are really long you might want to trim off a few rib bones and throw the extra into the freezer for future soup or something. Or cook them in the middle and just keep as leftovers to drizzle with some BBQ sauce for snacks. You want a crown roast that fits into your roasting pan and one that doesn't need 5 gallons of stuffing in the middle. I bend them a little bit in the store and get the shortest ones I can find.

Those ends make a great lunch the next day

Place your roast in a roasting pan. Pour the wine and chicken stock in the bottom of the pan. Cover loosely with foil and roast about an hour and a half to two hours at 300 degrees. Remove from oven and drain off drippings but reserve them.

Meanwhile, make the stuffing. Begin by wiping the mushrooms clean- don't wash them in the sink. Trim the stem ends and slice somewhat thickly. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and saute the mushrooms for about 5-10 minutes, until lightly browned. 

Remove to large bowl. Clean the leeks and slice, using the white part and just a tiny bit of the green part. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet and saute leeks for several minutes until tender.

In large bowl, toss the mushrooms, leeks, cornbread crumbs, herbs, salt and pepper with enough of the stock to moisten but don't soak the stuffing. Pile the stuffing in the center of the roast and bake at 350 degrees until heated through and golden brown on top, at least 30 minutes.

If you would like gravy, make gravy using some of the drippings from the roasting pan, some flour to make a roux, and additional chicken stock. Add a bit of milk or cream for richness and add a bit of fresh chopped thyme for freshness. I love cranberries with pork so I also poured a little warmed whole berry cranberry sauce over the ribs.

It may not be the real deal crown roast but it's just as delicious for a fraction of the price. It's a fun and unusual way to serve ribs too. 

Just a few quick notes about this dish-

It can be fairly difficult to move from the baking pan to a serving dish. I made it in a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Place the roast in the baking sheet in the oven and then add the broth and wine.

To transfer to a serving plate, use the foil to carefully lift and transfer the roast. Sometimes it helps to have a helper on standby in case you need an extra hand. Tear off the excess foil so you can't see it under the roast, and garnish as desired.

To help the roast hold its shape better and not have it break apart when you move it, wrap some cooking twine around the middle of the roast 2 or 3 times to secure the bones. Cut the twine and remove after transferring but before serving, of course

The Three Fs- Fourth, Food, Festivities

Oh we had SUCH big plans at The Little Lake House this year. We live right across the street from the park, and the lake's events committee had scheduled a live band to perform in the park as part of the annual Independence Day celebration- basically our front yard. So while other folks had to load up coolers, lawn chairs, blankets, food, drink and use the dreaded Kybo, we were going to get to enjoy the party from our front deck, the fridge just steps away, loads of food to snack on and comfy patio chairs.

Sadly, Mother Nature had to throw a wrench into my plans and a rainy morning and stormy forecast caused the band to be cancelled. But the food and drink shall go on. My sister and her husband came, armed with St. Louis style barbequed ribs, and cocktails, and the night went on- with our own music!

Captain and Coke and a few ice cold beers got us started, and then the feasting began. Our menu for the night-

• St. Louis Style Barbequed Ribs
• Tacos Al Pastor with Jicama, Kohlrabi and Carrot Slaw
• Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip with pretzel bread
• BLT Dip with crackers
• Assorted cheeses and sausages
• Mixed olives
• Chipotle Ranch Tortilla Pinwheels

Yum, right? The ribs were made by my brother in law, Kim, who used Jack Stack Barbeque meat rub and smoked the ribs on the grill. Cheese and sausage was just cut into bite sized cubes. The BLT Dip had a little help from a couple mixes I had on hand- BTL Dip mix from a craft show (small batch local company) and some Bacon Bacon from Tastefully Simple, mayo and sour cream. We had lots left- thinking it's going to make a great burger spread! The artichoke dip was cheesy and creamy with chopped artichoke hearts, chopped fresh baby spinach, cream cheese, sour cream and a little packet of Okey Dokey Artichokey dip mix I had tucked in the cupboard. Chipotle Ranch Pinwheels also used a seasoning packet I'd had around- this one from Pampered Chef, with cream cheese, shredded Colby Jack and chopped scallions, served with salsa for dipping.

The Tacos Al Pastor took some research. I've had these tacos at Malo, but they actually stack the meat on a vertical roaster, which I don't have. So I have to improvise. The spices and chilies required for this dish were also quite an extensive and complicated combination and I thought might be a little over the top heat-wise for our guests, so looking over our spice and pepper collection I decided to start with Arizona Dreaming seasoning from Penzey's and play with that.

For the pork I used a boneless pork roast, about 3 lbs. It was very lean already so had no fat to trim. I cut the roast into six thick "chops" and placed in a ziptop bag. In a small bowl I combined a can of crushed pineapple in juice with about 3 tb. of the seasoning and a couple shakes of chili powder. I poured this into the ziptop bag and sealed it, then massaged the marinade allover all the pork, and placed in the fridge overnight. The next day I removed the pork hunks from the bag, browned in a little oil, then poured the marinade over all and roasted, covered, at 325 degrees for about 2 hours. When done I removed the hunks of pork, sliced into bite sized strips, and returned to pineapple mixture in the pot.

To serve the tacos, spoon some pork and pineapple into a tortilla and top with slaw. You can add salsa verde if you like. No cheese, no lettuce, just the fresh, crunchy slaw. 

Jicama, Kohlrabi and Carrot Slaw

• 2 cups jicama, cut into matchsticks
• 2 cups raw kohlrabi, cut into matchsticks
• 1 cup carrot, shredded or cut into matchsticks
• 3 or 4 scallions, sliced, including green tops
• salt and pepper
• 2 limes
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 tb honey
• 1 cup cilantro leaves (or Italian parsley)

Combine the vegetables in a large bowl. Zest the limes and add to vegetables. Season well with salt and pepper. Juice the limes into small bowl. Stir in honey till dissolved. Whisk in oil. Pour over vegetables and toss well. Add cilantro right before serving and toss again.

This was my first time cooking with both jicama and kohlrabi and I have to say- they were so crunchy and fresh and delicious. I am SOLD! The lime and honey dressing was the perfect partner for these veggies. I did have to use parsley because I had no cilantro but it was just as fresh and delicious.

Our evening was capped off by fireworks around the lake and a ride around the muddy backroads in a Jeep- muddy and FUN !!!! So today, it's muddy laundry and cleanup and RELAX. I hope you all enjoyed a safe, fun and happy 4th of July. 

*Fireworks photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."