Published December 21st, 2011
Mayor Mendonca's Stuffed Roast Loin of Pork
Photo Susie Iventosch
(Note- the photo shows a much smaller version of the crown pork roast. You will need about 13 ribs in order to make the full circle crown.)
INGREDIENTS
One 6-pound pork loin
roast (have butcher
saw through the
backbone of the pork
loin between chops)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 recipe Cranberry-
Apricot Stuffing (below)
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Reserved apricot liquid from stuffing

DIRECTIONS
Trim excess fat from pork roast and cut down about 2 inches between ribs to partially separate roast into chop to make it easier to form the "crown".
Rub meat with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan, rib bones down. Roast at 350° for about 11/2 hours.
Remove pork from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Forcing ribs apart, push a generous amount of stuffing into the cuts between ribs. Mound stuffing slightly above the meat. Return meat to oven and roast 30-45 minutes longer, or until a meat thermometer registers 170° F.
Remove meat to a serving platter and let stand 20 minutes before carving. Drain excess fat from roasting pan. Add broth and vinegar to brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Mix cornstarch with reserved apricot liquid and stir into pan drippings and broth, simmering until thickened, then strain.
To serve: cut roast between ribs to separate into chops. Serve each chop with some of the stuffing and sauce.

Cranberry-Apricot Stuffing
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dried apricots, cut into small pieces
11/4 cup water
1/4 granulated sugar
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 pound pork sausage
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cups corn bread crumbs or pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried sage
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, combine apricots with 1 cup of the water. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup water with sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries to syrup and boil for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cranberries cool in the syrup.
In a frying pan, brown sausage with onion, breaking up sausage with a fork. Drain drippings, leaving about 4 tablespoons in the pan. Drain cranberries and apricots. Reserve liquid from apricots and set aside. Add fruit and corn bread crumbs/cubes to sausage. Toss to mix well and season to taste with salt, pepper and sage.





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