In any case, I bought one of these beauties the other day and was searching the web for what to do with it. I came across Chef Dennis Littley's recipe for Oven Roasted Rack of Pork and had to try it.
Let me tell you - it was fantastic! What made it particularly perfect was the pan gravy. I made the slight addition of some potato flour (starch) to thicken it up and changed the cooking temp/time - but for the most part otherwise, it was perfect. I forgot to take a picture the first time around - guess it means I have to cook it again!!
Ingredients
- 1 -8 bone center cut rack of pork
- Olive oil
- Montreal Steak Seasoning or the Crispy Wing Rub or just sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2 carrots - peeled and rough cut
- add 4-8 extras, peeled and rough cut too if you want to serve roasted carrots as a side dish
- 1 med onion-rough cut and include skins
- 2 stalks of celery- rough cut
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and cut into 2-4 pieces each
- Russet potatoes (however many you're serving)
- Potato flour / potato starch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I like to cook on the convection roast setting.
- Make a little island of rough cut vegetables in the middle of a roasting pan. If you're making extra carrots, spread them around the perimeter of your island.
- Rinse the rack of pork well and pat dry place rack fat side up, on top of cut veggies
- Apply a lot of olive oil to the entire rack, rubbing it into the meat
- Sprinkle entire rack with the seasoning of your choice: Crispy Wing Rub, Montreal Steak Seasoning, or simply salt/pepper (and anything else you like - garlic, onion, rosemary, thyme...).
- Wash and dry the russet potatoes. Coat with Olive Oil and the same seasonings you used for the pork.
- Place pan in the center of the preheated oven, (placing the potatoes directly on the rack on either side) for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to roast for 1-1.5 hours or until internal temperature (use a thermometer) in the middle has reached 150 degrees.
- Remove the Rack from the oven. Transfer the pork to a tray (with sides to catch the juice) and cover tightly with foil. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing the meat. This will allow all the juices to remain in the rack, rather than have them run all over the plate, making the meat dry.
- While the rack is resting, place 1-1.5 cups of water in the roasting pan and place on the stovetop over low heat. Using a wooden spoon loosen, all the baked in meat scraps from the pan until everything is loose. This is the point where I pick out all the extra carrots and set them into a serving bowl.
- To make the easiest pan gravy on earth, strain out all of the vegetable pieces and any other solids. Add a little potato flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, whisking over low heat. Add enough until it is to the thickness you like. Taste for seasoning; you may not need any after the seasonings and meat drippings have done their magic.
- Cut the rack along the bones, making even portions of the pork, serve with your pan gravy, carrots, potatoes, and a green vegetable to your liking!
Chef Dennis' notes: when you remove a larger cut of meat from the oven it will continue to cook and the temperature of the meat will rise 10 more degrees.
Pork can be eaten at lower temperatures than 165 degrees, but if your entire party would like the meat very well done, you can continue to roast the rack until the center cuts are 155 degrees.
