Costco Connection - October 2011

creative cooking

Honey and Sage-Roasted Rack of Pork

2 8-rib pork loin racks, center cut, chine bone off (Frenched)

Salt and pepper, to taste ½ cup honey

2 tablespoons snipped fresh sage

Season pork racks with salt and pepper.
Place each rack in roasting pans with bones
facing up and sides not touching. Roast at
350 F for 1 to 1½ hours ( 20 minutes per
pound), until internal temperature on a ther-
mometer reads 145 F. Remove roast from
oven; let rest about 10 minutes. Stir together
honey and sage. Brush honey mixture onto
roast after removing from oven. Makes
16 servings.

Nutritional information: 230 calories; 31 g protein; 7 g fat; 95 mg sodium; 90 mg cholesterol; 3 g saturated fat; 9 g carbohydrates; 0 g fiber.

CHRIS A RUSNAK

A fresh look at pork

Versatile, flavorful and affordable

IN HIS BOOK Planet Barbecue!, grilling
guru Steven Raichlen notes that in his
travels around the world to find (and
sample) the best barbecue recipes, he dis-
covered pork is revered everywhere he
traveled. In Indonesia, it’s used in saté
babi manis—pork saté with sweet soy
sauce. In Mexico: poc chuc (grilled pork
with grilled pickled onions). ;e Greeks
love kandosouvle—hot pepper spit-
roasted pork chunks. And, of course, pork
is king each year in the Memphis in May
World Championship Barbecue Cooking
Contest, the self-proclaimed “Barbecue
Super Bowl.”
What’s the appeal? It starts with pork’s
unique ;avor—“at once mild, sweet and
robust,” Raichlen writes. Pork responds

perfectly to sweet spices and condiments, the olive oil and lemons of the Mediterranean, and the hot chiles of Southeast Asia and Mexico.

;en there’s the variety of cuts, from the lean meat of the pork loin to the rich marbling of baby back ribs to the ;nesse of pork tenderloin.

Finally, it’s a value. Pork is one of the most economical meats you can buy, Raichlen points out, costing fewer dollars per pound than most other proteins.