We all are familiar with the beef standing rib roast or prime rib. I really don’t know why they call it “prime” rib because it isn’t always prime. I’ve had several “choice” beef standing rib roasts. I wouldn’t even attempt a “select” rib roast. This, friends, was a pork standing rib roast.

This roast was part of my recent Lobels purchase and it was scrumptious. I mean, the in the pic, you can see just how juicy it was and the texture was completly different than any other pork roast that I have ever had. Actually, I have never even seen a pork standing rib roast. I suppose they all get cut down to chops in my local stores or something.

This was my first experience with Kurobuta pork. Kurobuta is to pork, what Kobe, or Wagyu, is to beef. From the Wiki:

Kurobuta (black pig) is the Japanese term for a breed of Berkshire pig given to Japan by English diplomats in the 1800s. Like the kurobuta’s beef analogues (Wagyu beef) the pork is renown for its superb meat marbling.

When I opened the package I was amazed at the marbling. I am sure that Becky has heard enough of my amazement with the marbling as I was going on about it quite a lot, but I have never seen that kind of marbling in pork before.

I prepared this quite simply with a little herb rub, carved it into about 1 1/2 inch chops, and served it as a part of New Year’s day dinner with Hoppin’ John and collards. It was the sweetest, most tender, piece of pork that I have ever had. I am so glad that I bought two of these roasts.

...

I unwrapped the roast and placed in a baking dish and admired it. Silly, I know.

While I was admiring the roast, I enlisted the help of my sous chef, Becky, to cut the herbs for my rub. For the rub I used about a tablespoon each of fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, minced garlic, and about one quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil.

After cutting a few scores in the fat of the roast, I rubbed it all over with smoked sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and the herb rub. I then let it sit at room temperature for 90 minutes.

I sprayed the bottom of a roasting pan, with a rack, with Pam, put the roast on the rack, fat side up, and placed it in the center of a pre-heated 500 degree oven. It roasted for 15 minutes and then I reduced the temperature to 325 degrees and let it go for an hour more. I then began checking the temperature of the roast with an instant read thermometer looking for 155 degrees. After a total time of about a hour an twenty five minutes, it was done. I removed the roast, placed it on a carving board, tented it with foil, and let it stand for 15 minutes before removing the twine and slicing into chops. This was a little more than a five pound roast, so cooking times will definitely vary with weight.






There was no gravy and no pan sauce with this baby!