Dinner: Double Rack of Pork with Burnt Orange-Caramel Pan Sauce

Recipe by Bruce Aidells Forgo the old-school crown roast by arranging two pork rib roasts with the bones crisscrossed like a military honor-guard salute. Ask your butcher to french the bones by removing excess fat and muscle for a more elegant presentati

Ingredients

4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 6-bone racks of pork (about 8 pounds total), chine bone removed, fat trimmed to 1/4" thickness, rib bones frenched
4 large oranges

Instructions

Pulse oil, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small food processor or finely chop on a work surface to form a paste.
Place roasts, bone side down, on a work surface. Using a small knife, score fat 1/4" deep with six 3"-long diagonal slices. Rub roasts with herb paste, massaging some into each slit. Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, remove zest (orange part only) from 1 orange in 3"-long strips. Using a knife, cut zest crosswise into 1/8"-wide strips; set aside. Cut peel and white pith from remaining oranges. Slice all oranges into 1/4"-thick rounds; transfer to a large roasting pan.
Place orange zest strips in a small saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Strain zest; set aside for sauce and discard liquid in pan.
Arrange a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 °F. Place pork roasts in roasting pan over orange rounds so that roasts face each other and the rib bones interlock. Wrap bone tips in foil to prevent burning. Roast until meat is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 °F and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 135 °F, about 25 minutes longer. Transfer pork to a carving board and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 20 minutes.

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