Name: Rack of Pork with Potatoes and Asparagus
Total time: 8 h 45 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar; Kosher salt and pepper; 1 (4- to 5-pound) center-cut bone-in pork rib roast , chine bone removed; 2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes , unpeeled, halved; 5 teaspoons vegetable oil; 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary; 2 pounds asparagus , trimmed

Why This Recipe Works

For this recipe, we learned that properly grouping the ingredients resulted in a successful one-pan meal. First we tended to the pork and potatoes. Rubbing the roast with brown sugar and salt and letting it cure for a few hours maximized its juiciness and produced better browning. Tossing halved small Yukon Gold potatoes with rosemary, oil, salt, and pepper and roasting them cut side down in a roasting pan with the pork placed in a V-rack above them allowed them to soak up the flavorful pork drippings as they cooked. We removed the pork from the oven when it reached 130 degrees and relied on the bones’ residual heat to take it to 145 degrees as it rested (a process called carryover cooking). We then placed the asparagus spears on top of the potatoes and popped the roasting pan back into the oven to finish cooking both vegetables.

Before You Begin

Use small Yukon Gold potatoes measuring 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The roast’s bones trap heat, so the meat continues to cook during the resting period, which is why we pull it from the oven at 130 degrees; the temperature will climb to 145 degrees. Monitoring the roast with a probe thermometer is best. If you use an instant-read thermometer, open the oven door as infrequently as possible and remove the roast from the oven before taking its temperature. Serve with Quick Salsa Verde (recipe follows).

Instructions

Combine sugar and 1 tablespoon salt in bowl. Trim fat on roast to 1/4-inch thickness. Pat roast dry with paper towels and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Wrap roast in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in bowl, then arrange cut side down in large roasting pan.

Nestle V-rack among potatoes in pan. Unwrap roast and brush off any excess sugar mixture. Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon pepper and place fat side up on V-rack.

Roast until center of pork registers 130 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer pork and V-rack to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss asparagus with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in bowl and place on top of potatoes. Return pan to oven and cook until asparagus is bright green and potatoes are browned on bottom, 18 to 20 minutes.

Remove bones from roast by running sharp knife down length of bones, following contours as closely as possible. Carve meat into 1/4-inch-thick slices and cut ribs between bones. Serve.