A Kingly Roast for Your Holiday Table

This Christmas, serve guests an elegant crown roast, a statement dish that always impresses.

A crown roast comes from the rib-chop section of a rack of pork. A good butcher can prepare a crown roast for you in advance, but for skilled cooks, here’s how to assemble it at home. First, ask your butcher to remove the chine and feather bones from the rack, which should come in two sections.

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Crown Roast Tools

You’ll need a boning knife to trim the rib bones — or french the chops, as it’s called — a larger knife, and a sharpening steel to keep the knives in trim. You’ll also need cotton kitchen twine to thread the racks together and a larding needle for the threading.

Cut the First Rack

With the larger knife, make an indentation perpendicular to the bone of the first rack, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the end of the bone.

Cut the Second Rack

Continue with the second rack by lining it up with the indentation in the first rack so that they will be even.

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Remove Excess Meat

Cut away the excess meat between the incisions and the ends of the bones. Make sure the cut is deep enough to expose the bones. Reserve this excess meat for another use.

French the Bones

With the boning knife, french the bones: Between the incisions and the ends of the bones, cut the rest of the meat away, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the bones exposed.

Now that you’ve mastered this complex technique, it’s time to get our crown roast recipe and start cooking!

Crown Roast

Ask your butcher to remove the chine, feather bones, and any excess fat from the crown roast. You can have the butcher grind the trimmings to reserve for another use.

1 eight-to-nine-pound crown roast of pork
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Grated zest of 1 orange
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Wild Rice Dressing
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fresh apple cider
1 cup Homemade Chicken Stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.Position rack in lower third of the oven. Brush the roast with 4 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

2. In small bowl, combine orange zest, garlic, rosemary, and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread mixture evenly over the meat, inside and out. Place meat in a heavy-duty roasting pan with a rack large enough to hold roast without crowding sides. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees. Continue roasting, rotating pan after 45 minutes, until meat is well browned and an instant-read thermometer registers 150 degrees. about 1 1/2 hours. (Insert thermometer into meaty center of the crown, making sure that it does not touch any ribs. Take several readings to ensure that temperature is even all around.)

3. While crown roast is cooking, make the wild-rice dressing. Remove roast from oven, transfer to a cutting board with a well, and let stand 20 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. Place dressing in oven, and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Pour the pan juices into a fat separator or glass measuring cup, and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. If using a separator, carefully pour juice back into pan; discard fat. If using a measuring cup, carefully remove fat with a spoon, and return juices to pan. Place roasting pan on top of stove over medium-high heat. Add wine, and bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, stir up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Boil until half of the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in apple cider and stock; season with salt and pepper, and return liquid to a boil. In a small bowl, combine butter with flour. Mix until completely combined. Transfer this mixture to the roasting pan. Whisk constantly until the gravy has slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and strain liquid into a gravy boat. serving the roast

4. Carefully lift roast out of pan, and place it on a serving platter; spoon the dressing into the center of the roast, and carve.

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Not up for the full crown roast? These quick-cooking beef short ribs are sure to please.