Roasted Rack of Pork

  4.7 – 19 reviews  • Roast Recipes
Level: Intermediate
Total: 2 hr 20 min
Active: 35 min
Yield: 2 to 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 1 four-rib pork roast (approximately 3 pounds)
  2. 3 tablespoons white vinegar
  3. 2 tablespoons sugar
  4. 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
  5. 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  6. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  7. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  8. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  9. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. If you are short on time, you can cook the pork at temperatures up to 350 degrees F; however, slower and lower cooking results in more tender and juicy meat.
  2. To prepare the pork for cooking, set the pork on a baking sheet and score the skin into a criss-cross pattern. Be sure to only score the fat and not deep enough to cut into the meat. Scoring exposes more fat to the heat, which results in more fat being rendered during cooking.
  3. Bring the vinegar, sugar and 5 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; then add the baking soda and bring back up to a boil. Carefully pour the boiling liquid over the skin of the roast. Pat the skin dry and discard the liquid. Next, rub the grapeseed and olive oils all over the pork; then rub the pork with the rosemary and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the pork in a roasting pan and transfer to the oven. Cook, uncovered, until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F, about 1 1/2 hours.
  5. When done, remove the pork from the pan and transfer it to a rack set over a baking sheet. Cover with vented foil and let rest for at least 15 minutes (the internal temp will increase by at least 5 or 10 degrees).

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 of 4 servings
Calories 207
Total Fat 17 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Carbohydrates 7 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugar 6 g
Protein 6 g
Cholesterol 18 mg
Sodium 1431 mg

Reviews

Shawna Dunn
I The result was the most evenly cooked crackling I have ever achieved. The use of boiling water opens the slits in the skin allowing oil and salt to penetrate. I cooked it in an air fryer on 210c until crackle popped then 150c until internal temp 63c. This will be my standard forever.
Thankyou Tyler.
Barbara West
The baking soda is a tenderizer. The sugar/vinegar step is to tenderize and add a quick burst of flavor. Tyler is always ahead of the curve and there is always a reason behind what he does…that you can usually Google if you need an explanation.
Craig Wade
I made this with great success but with some changes worth noting. I am a chef and when a recipe asks me to do something unconventional, I want to know WHY. Tyler gives no explanation for the quirky vinegar/sugar rinse and it made no sense to me, so I skipped it. My rack of pork had little fat cap but I scored what was there. I only used olive oil and preceeded as written for the cooking method. The roast was perfect. Tender, moist and an lovely pink throughout. The key is the low/slow roasting and resting for the carry over heat to finish cooking the roast without drying it out. Try this recipe, for sure, but eliminate the unnecessary steps to make it much easier to prepare.
Robert Kelly
Really tender and delicious rack of pork. Not sure why we had to do the vinegar/sugar rinse at the beginning. I did it, it came out delicious, I just don’t know why that step was needed. In any case, I used an instant pot Omni oven, set the thermometer to 150 (145 was a little rare for me) and let it do its magic. Definitely a recipe I’ll make again.
Lindsey Powell
Question:  What is the purpose behind scalding the meat with water/vinegar/baking soda? I made this for Christmas and it was delicious, but couldn’t figure out the reason behind the scalding. Can anyone educate me on this?
Joshua Nunez
This was my first time cooking this cut, so I needed some guidance. This recipe was great! highly recommend for super tender and flavorful pork. 
Monica Hansen
Usual Tyler Florence

Easy to
Prepare and absolutely delicious!!

Michael Gregory
This was liked by the whole family even the kids. The only changes I made were i used a BBQ and and let it rest in a cooler till it was time to eat. The cooler made the crust soft.
Donna Evans
This is the best pork recipe I have tried. Easy to make and delicious.
Bradley Davis
This was roasted pork perfection. Our oven tends to run hotter, and we like our pork not quite so done, so I reduced the cook time to 70 minutes.  It was a YUGE hit!

 

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