Short answer: the Food Lab says no, and America’s Test Kitchen says yes.
Here’s how they got there.
The Food Lab cooked four roasts. The first had the bone on, the second had the bone removed but tied to the meat, the third had aluminium foil between the bone and the meat, and the forth was cooked without the bone. After a taste test, the first three tasted the same, and the fourth was a little tougher.
The complete experiment is here.
America’s Test Kitchen decided that they need something neutral to test the flavour against, so they made mashed potatoes and formed them into a “roast”. They then scraped some pork ribs free of any connective tissue and laid them on the “roast”, and they used a separate, boneless “roast” for the sake of comparison. The majority of their tasters found that the first “roast” tasted noticeably meaty.
Their complete experiment is here.
So, what’s a guy to do? We say cook with the bone on; it’s not going to hurt anything, and all the bits that cling to it are delicious.
