Regal Pork Roast

From the Midwest Living Test Kitchen comes an entree that’s fit for your grandest holiday dinner. Cherry-pecan bread stuffing fills this pork crown roast (pictured on page 83). Makes 12 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 (5 1/2- to 6-pound) pork rib crown roast (12 to 16 ribs)
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup dried tart red cherries, snipped
• 1/2 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 cup sliced celery (1 stalk)
• 1/3 cup chopped onion (1 small)
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4 cups dry whole-wheat and/or white bread cubes (6 to 7 slices)
• 1 cup broken pecans
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Trim the fat from the meat. Place roast, bone tips up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Make a ball of foil and press it into cavity of roast to hold it open. Wrap bone tips with foil to prevent meat on tops of bones from drying out. Roast in a 325° oven for 1 1/2 hours.
2. For stuffing: In a small mixing bowl, stir together the hot water, cherries and bouillon granules. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Don’t drain.
3. In a small skillet, cook the celery and onion in hot butter till tender.
4. In large mixing bowl, toss together the bread cubes, pecans, sage and pepper. Add fruit mixture and celery mixture. Toss gently to moisten. (For a moister stuffing, add 1/4 cup water.)
5. Remove foil from roast cavity. Loosely pack stuffing into the center of the roast. Cover stuffing loosely with foil. Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the stuffing. Place any of the remaining stuffing into a lightly greased casserole dish. In covered casserole dish, bake stuffing alongside the stuffed roast for 45 to 60 minutes or till a meat thermometer in stuffing registers 160°.
6. Cover the pork roast with foil and let it stand for 15 minutes before carving. Serve the additional stuffing in the casserole along with the roast. To serve, slice the roast between the ribs. If you like, garnish the serving platter with some fresh crab apples and fresh sage sprigs.