Pork Rib Roast with Rosemary & Sage
A bone-in pork rib roast has everything: lean and moist meat, a crusty fatty exterior, and rib bones. When you buy the roast, ask the butcher to remove the spinal chine bone and to separate the thin layer of meat on the ribs, stopping about an inch from the end of the bones. This allows you to season the interior of the meat next to the bones. Season the meat 1 or 2 days before cooking; it makes a big difference in the flavor of the roast.
Recipe information
Yield
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Open the flap of meat next to the rib bones and rub the garlic onto the meat and bones down to the loin meat. Sprinkle liberally with salt, ground pepper, and half the rosemary and sage. Rub the seasonings into the meat. Reassemble the roast and use kitchen string to tie the meat and bones together (see page 118). Season the outside of the roast, again liberally, with salt, pepper, and the remaining herbs, and rub into the meat. The chopped garlic goes on the inside of the roast; if rubbed onto the outside, it will burn in the oven. Wrap up the roast in the butcher paper, or lightly cover, and refrigerate.
Step 2
Remove the roast from the refrigerator an hour or so before cooking to let it come to room temperature. Put it in a roasting pan, bone side down; the bones make a sort of natural roasting rack. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cook the roast for 30 minutes or so, then turn it over in the roasting pan, bone side up, and cook for another 20 minutes. Turn the roast again, bone side down, and cook another 20 minutes or so, until the internal temperature registers 130°F. When the roast is done, let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Step 3
Skim off some of the fat from the roasting pan, add some water or stock, and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the juices into a small saucepan and keep warm. When ready to serve, remove the strings from the roast, and cut the meat into thick chops with the bones, or cut the rack of rib bones away from the meat, and slice between the bones to separate them. Return them to the oven for a few minutes if you like them crustier. To the juices in the saucepan, add the juices released from the roast after resting and carving. Slice the meat and serve with the warm juices and the rib bones.
