French trimmed rack of pork with fennel crackling

I’ve been excited to cook this one myself since it was demonstrated at Le Cordon Bleu and it didn’t disappoint. Roasted rack of pork with Pommes Boulangères.

I bought a 3kg rack of pork from Turner & George because they include a generous piece of loin in their cut. I asked them to leave the rack as is so I could do the necessary butchery prep myself.

The meat was cut at the top of the eye, following the natural seam from one end of the rack to the other. The knife was poked through the membrane in between the ribs. On the reverse side, the membrane was cut following the line of slits and up each rib. Then each rib was pulled up and back, releasing it from the membrane with a scrape and a cut here and there with the knife. The meaty membrane was then trimmed away from the joint. I couldn’t resist chopping this up and slowly rendering the fat to create crispy porky sprinkles. Yum.

Next, the skin was carefully removed in one piece and scored. Excess fat was trimmed from the rack. About 6mm of fat was left on the meat to stop it drying out during roasting. Fennel seeds were sprinkled across the fat. The skin was trimmed to fit and tied back onto the rack using the butcher’s knot. I was chuffed with my French trimming. It took a bit of time but was worth the effort.

The rack was seasoned 24 hours in advance. An hour before roasting the rack came out the fridge. At room temperature, I rubbed the skin with oil and sprinkled with salt. The rack was seared in hot oil starting with the skin side then into the oven at 180C. Once the meat reached 60C it was covered with foil and returned to the oven until its core temperature reached 66C. It was then removed from the oven and left to rest.

Rack of pork with the best crunchy crackling

The meat was amazing—juicy, tender and tasty. The fat was buttery and melt-in-the-mouth with a beautiful hint of aniseed from the fennel seeds. The crackling was nicely seasoned and crunchy without too much fat on the reverse side.

A triumph!

Honestly, twas the best pig I’ve eaten for a long time. As for the pan juices. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mmmm.

For the Pommes Boulangères, a casserole dish was wiped with butter. White onions were sliced and cooked to blond in butter with crushed garlic. Desirée potatoes were peeled and sliced into disks about 3mm thick. Alternating layers of potato then onions with garlic, thyme and bay were built up. Each layer was lightly seasoned. The top and bottom layers were potatoes. Chicken stock was poured over and the layers pressed down so they were covered. Sprigs of thyme with bay leaves were sprinkled on top for decoration, a final seasoning, and some knobs of butter. The dish was covered with foil and cooked in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes. The foil was then removed for the last 15 minutes, allowing the potatoes to take on a lovely brown colour.

The rack was carved into 8 chunky chops served with a generous dollop of stocky spuds, Cavolo Nero, creamy garlic purée, and a meat sauce infused with sage and finished with honey, Dijon mustard and lemon juice.

Rack of pork