Rack Of Pork Arista

Rack of pork arista is a special treat that I prepared for new year's day.  This recipe comes from Thomas Keller's new cook book "Ad Hoc At Home".  Thomas Keller is the owner of the famous French Laundry restaurant in California.  Which is rated the best restaurant in the country.  My family gave me this new cookbook for my 42nd birthday.  This recipe is a little time consuming but makes a wonderful center piece for your next big special event.  Thomas Keller likes to brine his meats which I had never done before with a rack of pork.  The pork arista turned out tender as butter and you could taste all the different flavors in the crust.  The cook book stated "that legend had it that the Greek and the Roman churches were fighting so they had a dinner to work out the differences".  "They were served this dish of roasted pork seasoned with cloves, pepper, garlic, fresh herbs and all the dignitaries were heard to murmur, Arista, arist (This is terrific, the best), so it was called".

Rack of Pork Arista:

Serves:  8
Pre-Heat Oven:  350 degrees

Pork Brine:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
12 bay leaves
3 large rosemary sprigs
1/2 bunch thyme
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 cup Kosher salt
8 cups water

1.  Place all the ingredients into a large pot, cover and bring to a boil on medium high heat.  Boil the brine for one minute until all the salt has dissolved.

Ingredients For Pork Brine

Pork Brine Cooked

2.  Remove the brine from the heat and allow to cool.  Then chill before using.  The brine can be made up to 3 days before you need to use it.  This brine is enough for 4 # of pork meat.

Pork Brine: Cold
One 6-8 bone-center cut rack of pork (about 4-5 pounds) bones frenched
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
6 garlic cloves
1 lemon (rind and juice)
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon minced rosemary
1 tablespoon minced sage
3 tablespoons canola oil

1.  Pour the cold brine into a container that will hold the pork and submerge the pork in the brine mixture.  Refrigerate the pork in the brine for 10 hours (no longer then 10 hours or it will be so salty).

2.  Remove the pork from the brine  and rinse under cold water.  Pat the pork dry with a paper towel (discard the brine).  Score the fat with a sharp knife making shallow cuts about 1 inch apart.  Don't cut into the meat.

3.  Make the rub for the meat.  Grind the cloves and peppercorns together with a mortar and pestle until pulverized.  Add the grated garlic and zest of the lemon into the peppercorns.  Add a pinch of kosher salt and mash to a paste.  Add the herbs and mash to a paste.  Stir in the juice of the lemon and oil into the paste.  Rub the paste all over the pork roast.  Feel free to season the roast with kosher salt as well about 1 tablespoon.

Herb Paste

Rack Of Pork With Herb Paste

4.  Place the pork roast on a wire rack which is placed in a roasting pan and allow the pork to  rest for 1 hour before you cook it.    Roast the pork in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat temperature has reached 135 degrees to 140 degrees for medium rare. (My roast ended up taking about 1 1/2 hours to cook for medium rare). Remove the pan from the oven and allow the pork to rest for 30 minutes before cutting into the meat.  Carve the meat into chops and arrange on a plater.

Rack Of Pork Arista