How Long To Cook Crown Pork Roast

Flavored with a garlic and fresh herb rub, our crown roast of pork is tender and juicy and makes a beautiful presentation for a holiday meal.

Uncut crown roast of pork on a serving platter garnished with fresh rosemary.

Roast pork is a wonderfully versatile entreé that's really easy to prepare, and that's why it's one of our favorites to serve for holidays and special occasions.

This recipe uses a "crown roast of pork," a tender, juicy cut that makes an absolutely beautiful presentation at the table and is sure to impress your guests.

Crown roast of pork on a platter, garnished with rosemary, pine sprig and red berries in the background.

What is a crown roast of pork?

A crown roast of pork is made from two racks of pork loin chops.

The butcher prepares it by scraping the ends of the bones clean (this is called "Frenching"), scoring the meat so the racks will curve properly, and tying the racks together to form a "crown."

Crown roasts vary in size, with the range being from 7 to 12 pounds. Your butcher can help you calculate what size roast you'll need but figure on 3/4 to 1 pound of meat per person (or 1-1/2 to 2 ribs per guest).

If you want to serve a crown roast for company, be sure to plan ahead and order in advance so you can get just the right size for your guest list.

About this recipe

This crown roast of pork recipe uses an Italian-inspired rub made with olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs to infuse flavor throughout the meat.

To further complement those robust flavors, we generally serve this roast with our Italian Sausage and Herb Stuffing.

We also use this same rub on a boneless pork sirloin roast. The boneless roast may be less showy than the crown roast, but it's easy to prepare and carve, and definitely, a great choice when serving a smaller crowd.

For those of you that like sweet and savory flavors, we also offer a variation on this crown roast in the recipe notes. It cuts back a bit on the garlic and pairs the pork with a Brandied Cherry Sauce and Cornbread Stuffing.

Close up of a crown roast of pork ready to be carved.

How to stuff crown roast of pork

We like to fill the cavity of our crown roast with aromatics during roasting and cook our stuffing separately.

Depending on the size of your roast and how meaty the ribs are, it's difficult to judge how much, if any, stuffing you can place in the cavity, so we find it's just better to bake it separately.

You can still present the crown roast with stuffing at the table though. Here's how:

Bake the stuffing in a casserole, according to the recipe instructions. As soon as you remove the crown roast from the oven, discard the aromatics in the cavity and spoon in some of the cooked stuffing.

For extra flavor, drizzle a small amount of the pan juices over the stuffing to soak in while the roast is resting. Transfer the remaining stuffing to a serving dish.

Serving suggestions

If you're looking for ideas as to what to serve with our crown roast of pork, check out the Italian-inspired menu we've put together.

8-9 pound crown roast of pork, 14 to 16 ribs
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 sprig each of fresh rosemary and thyme
1 small orange, cut into chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the rub:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh grated orange zest

Bring the roast to room temperature by removing it from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.
Make the rub by combining the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, thyme and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside.
Position the rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450°F. Season the cavity of the pork with salt and pepper and stuff with the halved garlic, sprigs of rosemary and thyme and the orange. Shield the ends of the ribs with small pieces of aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan and, using your hands, coat all the outer surfaces of the meat with the prepared rub. Pour 1/2-inch of water in the bottom of the pan and place the pork in the oven.
Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers 145°F. Total cooking time should be around 1-3/4 to 2 hours for an 8 to 9-pound roast.
Tent loosely with foil and allow the roast to rest for 20 minutes, then carve by slicing between the rib bones to separate into individual chops.

Recipe Variation: Crown Roast of Pork with Brandied Cherry Sauce

We've also served crown roast of pork with an easy and delicious Brandied Cherry Sauce.

You can still use the same rub on the roast with a couple of minor adjustments.

Simply cut the garlic quantity back to 1 teaspoon, eliminate the orange zest and replace the 1/2 orange in the cavity with 1/2 of a small onion.

Our Savory Corn Bread Stuffing is the perfect complement to this recipe variation.

Course: Pork

Cuisine: Italian

Calories: 442 kcal , Carbohydrates: 2 g , Protein: 32 g , Fat: 33 g , Saturated Fat: 11 g , Polyunsaturated Fat: 19 g , Cholesterol: 122 mg , Sodium: 546 mg , Sugar: 1 g

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