Arista Di Maiale Al Forno

4.5 from 2 ratings

Oven roasted pork can be a wonderful treat, tender, crispy and fatty. Serve it with tender, slow cooked beans or creamy mashed potato for an unforgetable meal that will continue with leftovers the next day. This recipe is courtesy of Rolando Beramendi, author of Autentico.

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1 4-pound bone-in pork loin or rib roast
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoon wild fennel pollen or finely crushed fennel seeds
2 teaspoon cracked tellicherry black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
q.b. fine sea salt
q.b. cooking extra-virgin olive oil
10 rosemary sprigs, for the pan
10 sage sprigs, for the pan
20 bay leaves, for the pan
1 head pink or regular garlic, cloves broken apart but not peeled, for the pan
q.b. robust extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan

Directions

To prepare the roast: Ask your butcher to make a crack between each vertebrae (my butcher flips the roast over so it is bone-side up and uses his huge butcher cleaver). If I am at home, I use a very sharp chef ’s knife, and with the help of a rubber mullet or a hammer, I tap between each of the chops until I hear a crack. Once you split the ribs, flip the roast over again, and trim away and set aside some of the fat. Finally, flip the rack to a stand-up position and, using a very sharp knife, begin boning the filet to remove it entirely in one piece. Use the tip of the knife to make a series of incisions and cuts in the meat without piercing all the way though.
Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, fennel pollen, pepper, rosemary, sage, and salt. Add the olive oil until a thick paste forms.
Using your hands, rub the mixture on the inside of the bone rack, and all over the arista. If you have any left over, rub some on the outside bone rack as well.
Using cooking twine, tie the meat back to the rack, wrapping between each rib to make it easier for you to slice and keep the arista tight and whole. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°).
In a large baking dish, combine the rosemary sprigs, sage, bay leaves, and garlic. Cut the reserved pork fat into cubes and scatter over the top. (If you don’t have enough fat for the size of the rack, drizzle with additional cooking extra-virgin olive oil.)
Tranfer the arista to the baking dish and roast until a thermometer inserted into the center of the rack reads 130°F (55°C), about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
Cut the string as you slice, leaving the others tied up if you are not serving the whole arista. Drizzle with pan juices and robust extra-virgin olive oil and serve warm. I like to save the bones to make Rosticciana.
Recipe excerpted with permission from Autentico by Rolando Beramendi (St Martin’s Griffin, 2017)