Sweet Caramelized Onion Pork Rack Recipe and $25 Costco Cash Card Giveaway

I was asked to create a recipe using the Rack of Pork, since my husband is more creative in the kitchen I asked him to help me with the recipe.  He came up with Sweet Caramelized Onion Pork Rack with Creamy Bacon-Mashed Potatoes.   Enjoy!

Sweet Caramelized Onion Pork Roast

Ingredients

• 1 (5-pound) pork rack with  bones
• 1 pound bacon
• Salt and black pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 large (or 3 medium) sweet onions, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated with micro-plane grater
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2  cups apple juice

Directions:
Liberally season both sides of rack with fresh ground salt and pepper.  Let the pork absorb the salt and pepper while you cook the bacon in a heavy sauté pan. Remove the bacon and set aside for mashed potatoes.  Remove all but 2-3 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat.  Turn pan to high and get it very hot.  Using the same pan used to cook the bacon, sear all sides of the pork rack in the bacon fat until rack is well caramelized. Set aside in roasting pan.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  In same sauté pan, reduce heat to medium and then add 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add the sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon,mustard, cayenne pepper and remaining butter.  Slowly cook until onions are well caramelized. Finally add brown sugar and cook for 3 more minutes.

Add the apple juice and turn the temperature to high.  Deglaze the pan and simmer to reduce compote until a glaze forms.

Completely cover rack with half of sweet carmelized onion compote setting aside the remaining half for later.  Transfer pork rack to roasting pan and place in oven. Cook for 15 minutes and then reduce temperature to 350 degrees for the remaining cooking time.  Cook until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.  Halfway through cooking time, pour remaining half of sweet carmelized onion compote over the rack.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

While the pork is cooking, cook potatoes for creamy bacon-mashed potato accompaniment.

Creamy Bacon-Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions:
Heat chicken stock and potatoes in a saucepan over medium-high heat until potatoes come to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and let cook for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Drain, the potatoes saving the stock for later.

Mash the potatoes with 1/4 cup of the saved stock, butter and fresh ground black pepper.   Mix in the sour cream, chopped  bacon, and chives.   Save some of the chopped bacon for a garnish to sprinkle on the top of the creamy mashed potatoes.

Serve with a salad and enjoy!   I have to say, my husband did an amazing job!   The flavor on the pork was so good and and the rack of pork was so juicy and tender.   We are looking forward to inviting some people over and amazing them with our mad pork cooking skills!

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the National Pork Board and Costco on creating a recipe for Rack of Pork.  I had never tried this cut before, and now our family will be purchasing this cut again.  Don’t forget, through October 31st, you can save $2.50 on the Rack of Pork at your local Costco store.   Pick one up and give this recipe a try, you will be glad you did!

Win a $25 Costco Cash Card:  You can enter to win a $25 Costco Cash card just by leaving a comment on this post.

How to enter:  Just leave a comment and let me know what your favorite type of pork is.

The giveaway will close on Tuesday, November 1st at 9:00 am PST and winner will be notified shortly thereafter.

This post was written by me in participation with a program from The Motherhood for Costco and the National Pork Board. I received products to facilitate my recipe creation and a stipend for my time.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.