How to cook the perfect crown roast

“Food is not about impressing people. It’s about making them feel comfortable.” — Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

In our family, New Year’s Day is just as important as Christmas. So significant is the occasion that we always try to put together a hearty feast. One of my favorites is crown roast of pork, a dish that I have helped prepare since I was eight years old. My mom, my sister Wells and I would all help make the stuffing, put it in the meat, and bake it in the oven, together with the roast beef and lechon de leche.

There are two types of crown roast, the first being the pork spareribs or sometimes called American spareribs. This type of roast has hardly any flesh and is usually stuffed after cooking. The stuffing often used is rice, mashed potatoes or chestnuts. The end bones are tied together to form a crown.

To get the perfect cut, ask the Monterey meat shop to cut two inches from the top, and 1-1/2 inches from the base bone to make a crown.

The second type is the pork loin center rib roast, which contains the loin eye muscle and rib bones. Ask Monterey meat shop to remove the skin and the fat, and trim the flesh two inches from the top and sides of each bone to expose the bone and make a “crown.” Cut the bottom bones 1-1/2 inches for the crown to “spread.” Made of eight ribs each, the top and bottom bones are tied with the fleshy part inside the crown. This is then stuffed with meat and roasted together. (The Monterey meat shop personnel are trained experts and will do this for you.)

When choosing pork, it is important to check the color of the meat. It should be whitish pink in color. The pinker the color, the younger the pig. The bone should be pink or red, and the fat should be white. The texture of the meat should be firm, not soft and mushy.

To store crown roast, keep it in the freezer no longer than one month; to properly thaw it, transfer it to the refrigerator section and let thaw for four to six hours per kilo. Keeping the meat in the freezer for a long time will cause it to lose a lot of juices and flavor.

When roasting, the ideal temperature is 350° F or 175° C. Use an Insta-read meat thermometer from the Cooks Exchange store in Rockwell Center to get an accurate reading, testing away from the bone. For best results, the inside temperature should be 160° F.

Majestic Crown Roast of Pork

1 16-rib crown roast, about three kilos

For the marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon pepper

For the stuffing:

1 kilo ground pork or ground chicken

2 cups sweet ham, coarsely chopped

2 cups white bread cubes, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup pickle relish

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup eggs

1 tablespoon rock salt

1 teaspoon pepper

For the garnish:

24 quail eggs

1 can peach halves, drained; reserve syrup

For the sauce:

reserved peach syrup

1/3 cup Magnolia Best Fruits pink guava jam

1 pork cube

2 cups water

1/3 cup cornstarch

drippings from cooked crown roast

Order the crown roast at least two days in advance from a meat shop, such as Monterey. Have the skin and the fat of the pork removed.

Put the crown roast on top of a foil-lined tray. Arrange the ribs into a crown. Rub the meat with the marinade.

For the stuffing:

Mix well the stuffing ingredients in a bowl.

Cover the quail eggs with enough water in a pan. Cook the eggs for seven minutes. Drain. Rinse the eggs under tap water. Peel.

For the sauce:

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a pan. Stir until boiling. Cool. Put in sauce boats.

To assemble:

Pack a quarter of the stuffing into the crown roast. Arrange six quail eggs on the stuffing. Repeat stuffing and lining the roast with the eggs. When done, cover the roast with foil.

Bake at 350°F or 175°C for three-and-a-half hours, or until an Insta-read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 160°C. At this point, the roast will continue cooking.

Transfer the cooked roast on a romaine lettuce-lined tray. Remove the foil. Garnish the top of the roast with peach halves. Brush all over with the sauce.

To serve:

Allow one rib with stuffing per person. Serve with rice and green salad.

Pork Spareribs Crown Roast

2 kilos whole pork spareribs

For the marinade:

1 cup Hunt’s tomato sauce

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup Jack Daniel’s bourbon whiskey

1 tablespoon rock salt

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

For the stuffing:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1/2 cup red bell peppers

1/2 cup green bell peppers

1/2 cup raisins

2 teaspoons rock salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon pepper

8 cups cooked rice (C4, dinorado or biryani)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Rub the pork spareribs with the ingredients for the marinade.

Place the spareribs on a foil-lined tray. Arrange the spareribs to form a crown. Crumple extra foil to serve as stuffing and to make the crown roast stand.

Bake at 350°F or 175°C for 90 minutes. Remove the center foil (stuffing). With two metal spatulas or turners, transfer the roast to a serving platter. Stuff, top with peas, and serve.

For the stuffing:

Sauté in a wok the onions, and bell peppers in butter. Add the raisins. Season with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Cook for two minutes. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Toss in the eggs. Cook for three more minutes.

Tip:

One cup of uncooked rice will yield three cups of rice when cooked in two cups of water.

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