Roast Crown of Pork with Apple & Sage Stuffing

An awesome Roast … made this to celebrate hubby’s birthday … the apple & sage stuffing is awesome and wrapping the crown of pork with bacon keeps the chops succulently moist ….I served up with some pan-roasted asparagus ❤

I bought a very small crown of pork …the butcher here had left the ribs very long …I’d much prefer it to be short …I used about 6 slices of bacon … you will need more slices if you are roasting a bigger crown

I used only 2 slices of bread, cut into 1″ squares (partly because the crown of roast I bought is very small and partly … spread evenly on a baking pan … you can more slices if the crown you are stuffing is bigger …please note that recipe below is for a small crown of pork with about 10 chops so please increase recipe accordingly if your crown of pork is bigger

Bake the bread squares in a 180° C pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes until slightly toasted … set aside

..other ingredients needed for the stuffing : finely chopped onion, finely chopped celery and wedges of Granny Smith apples

Fresh herbs you will need … fresh parsley, fresh chives, fresh thyme and fresh sage

…all fresh herbs all chopped + sugar, grated nutmeg, pepper, ground cinnamon ..

Cook onion & celery in heated skillet with butter over moderate heat, stirring, for about 5 mins, until soften …

Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon …

Stir to mix well …

Reduce heat to low, then cook covered, stirring now and again, until apples are tender… about 15 minutes

Stir in bread squares, parsley, and chives …remove from flame and set aside …

Wrap tips of rib bones with foil to prevent burning …sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan….

…then wrap meat below bones with overlapping bacon strips… securing with toothpicks if necessary …

…Mound stuffing in cavity….

When roast is done, lift it out of roasting tin and stand it aside, loosely covered with foil, for 15 – 20 minutes and …

…make the sauce …skim fat off surface .. place pan over a burner… add water, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits….pour through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids …

…add the apple jelly and any juices accumulated from the resting crown of pro .., then simmer sauce, whisking occasionally and skimming any fat that rises, until jelly is melted, about 4 minutes….season with salt and pepper then pour into a sauce boat to serve with the roast

Remove foil from resting roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs … the apple & sage stuffing goes absolutely superbly with the yummy 🐷 chops 👍👍👍

RECIPE

Ingredients :  for the stuffing

•  2 slices firm white sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch squares
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ¼ cup finely chopped celery including some leaves
• 2 large tart apples such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
•  2 – 3 Tbsp sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage or ½ Tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or ¼ tea dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of cinnamon
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

                        : for the roast

• 1 crown roast of pork (the crown I used was about 10 chops in it)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp  black pepper
• 6 slices bacon

                         : for the sauce

• ½ cup water
• 3 Tbsp apple jelly or red-current jelly

Methods:

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Make the Stuffing : 
• Spread bread squares in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until dry and lightly toasted, about 10 minutes …  leave oven on (for roast) and set toasted bread squares aside to cool
• Cook onion and celery in butter in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened … 4 to 5 minutes
• Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon …reduce heat to low then cook, covered, stirring until apples are tender, about 10 minutes…then stir in bread squares, parsley, and chives … remove from burner and set aside
• Make the Roast :
• Set oven rack in lower third of oven
• Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan and mound stuffing in cavity
• Wrap tips of rib bones with foil to prevent burning, then wrap meat below bones with overlapping bacon strips, securing them with wooden toothpicks, if necessary
• Roast pork in middle of oven, covering stuffing loosely with foil after 15 minutes and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 70°C when inserted 2 inches into center of meat (do not touch bones), 2 to 2¼ hours total
• Transfer roast to a carving board or platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes (temperature of meat will rise to 75°C; meat will be slightly pink)
• Make Sauce :
• Skim fat from pan drippings.. place pan across a burner and add water, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits then pour through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids
• Add jelly and any juices accumulated on carving board, then simmer sauce, whisking occasionally and skimming any fat that rises, until jelly is melted, about 2-3 minutes … season with salt and pepper
• Remove all foil from roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs … serve up with vegetables/sides of your choice 🍴🍷