Today I’ve got a real treat for you–a “standing” pork rib roast. Is this the same cut as a beef “standing rib roast”, with the distinction of it oinking instead of mooing? Yes, it is! You can find these also will, on the larger sizes (more ribs) be called “crown roast” (once again, regardless whether beef or pork). The crown roast is sliced and tied in a hoop and they make a very decorative presentation. I, however, want to actually serve bone-in chops, not actually do any table carving.

The rib roast recipe yielded 5 very large and juicy chops. The roast I bought weighed in at just under 4 pounds. You can easily scale up your rub and sauce recipes to make this feed a lot of people. I wouldn’t cook this meat to over 160 degrees and consider it may rise some when resting. I’ve heard many people complain about pork versus beef, because it’s not as juicy or flavorful in their experience. It shocks someone when they’re finally served a piece that missed the sorting bin for the shoe leather plant. Probably Big Beef trumping up some bad PR for old Porky, it turns out people have been overcooking their pork for years. It may be “the other white meat”, but a little pink is ok in my book. Cook it how you’re comfortable though.

But enough of my banter, continue to the recipe…click here!

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. The toughest part is the gravy, and really that’s pretty low on the difficulty scale. This is one of those “30 minute” meals, well…under 45 anyways. But you get to kick back for better than half that time, so that counts for a lot. Time to read the paper, play with the dog, or work on a side dish.

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I was passing by a row of hams at the grocery store and suddenly had a serious craving. “Cure 81″ ham is one of the things my mother made as I grew up, that I really loved. I believe that was always an Easter treat. Trouble is, a ham is a lot of meat–even if you make a nice dinner of one, you’re often going to end up with some leftovers.

So…to justify the decadent gluttony of a whole ham, I hatched a diabolical plan to justify the means. Basically, I decided on the leftovers first–ham sandwiches. From there, I worked out the details to spruce the simple sandwich up a bit. This isn’t a kid’s ham sandwich–too many flavors and textures for your average kid–so I’m calling it a grown-up sandwich.

You could opt out on any element I suggest here. But whatever you omit, the closer you come to just any old ham sandwich. It’s kind of a win-win scenario, actually. You’ll have something tasty either way!

Continue on to the recipe