A sumptuous crown roast is the king of ornamental cuisine, a dish so visually dramatic it cannot be taken for granted. When better than Christmas, the most nostalgic and traditional of holidays, to serve a dish that links us to the past?
A good butcher can prepare a crown roast for you in advance, but advanced chefs may want to try it at home. Technically, a crown roast comes from the rib-chop section of a rack of pork. If you want to make it yourself, have the butcher remove the chine and feather bones from the rack, and you can take it from there. Are you ready to learn how a rack becomes a crown roast?
Along with the rack of pork in two sections, assemble your tools: You'll need a boning knife to trim the rib bones -- or french the chops, as it's called -- a larger knife, and a sharpening steel to keep the knives in trim. You'll also need cotton kitchen twine to thread the racks together and a barding needle for the threading.
Cut away the excess meat between the incisions and the ends of the bones. Make sure the cut is deep enough to expose the bones. Reserve this excess meat for another use.
With the boning knife, french the bones: Between the incisions and the ends of the bones, cut the rest of the meat away, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the bones exposed.
Lay the rack down with the meaty side of the chops face up. Make an incision between every two chops, about a third of the way through. This will give you the flexibility to bend the chops into a circle.
Stand the racks up, chop-sides down, and bend them into a circle. Using the needle and twine, join the two end chops together with two separate ties, one about 1 inch below the exposed bones and the second 2 to 3 inches below that. Tighten the twine until the chops are evenly spaced, and tie off with a simple knot. Repeat at the opposite side of the crown. You are now ready to roast.
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