Home >Recipes >Whole Roasted Rack of Pork with Dried Cherry Stuffing

Serves: 6

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp brandy
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt, preferably gray salt
• 1 large country-style Italian loaf, about 1 pound or panatone
• 1 cup dried sour cherries soaked in one cup water
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary or sage finely minced
• 6 to 7 pounds center-cut, bone-in pork loin roast (8 bones)
• finely ground sea salt, preferably gray salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Stuffing

Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over high heat, and cook until it browns. Add the bay leaf and stand back (it might pop). Lower the heat to medium and add the sugar to the pan and stir. When the sugar has melted, add the brandy and stand back (it might flame). Add the lemon juice. Cook for 15 seconds, then add the orange juice, water from the cherries and salt. Stir and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and it has reached a syrupy consistency. You should have about 1/2 cup. Remove the bay leaf.

Using a serrated knife, shave off the thicker parts of the crust. Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes. You should have about 8 cups. Place the bread in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the brown butter syrup. Spread the bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and crispy on the outside and still chewy inside, 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally for even coloring. Let cool.

Pork

Let the pork roast sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.

Season the trimmed pork roast generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a roasting pan over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the pork roast, bone side down first. Cook until well browned on all sides, including the ends, about 15 minutes total. Remove the pork and set the roasting rack inside the pan. Set pork on the rack bone side up (if you do not have a rack simply leave in the pan, but bone side down).

Place the roast in the oven and cook until the internal temperature reaches 155°F, about 1 hour. Halfway through the cooking time, place the stuffing in the covered baking pan in the oven and cook until warm throughout, 20 to 25 minutes.

When the roast reaches an internal temperature of 155°F, remove it from the oven, cover lightly with foil and let rest for 15–20 minutes.