What Is Pork crown roast and How Can I Use It?
If pork crown roast has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 2 recipes to try it in.
Key Points
- A bone-in pork rib roast tied into a ring so the ribs stand up like a crown.
- A holiday showpiece; most butchers will form and tie it for you on request.
- Roast at 350°F (175°C) to 145°F (63°C), then rest 15 minutes.
- Fill the hollow center with stuffing only near the end, never the whole time.
- A plain bone-in rack of pork gives the same meat with far less fuss.
What is pork crown roast?
A pork crown roast is a bone-in pork rib roast bent into a circle and tied so the rib bones stand up like the points of a crown.
It is the same meat as a rack of pork, just two racks curved together and sewn into a ring with a hollow center.
This is a showpiece, the kind of roast you make for a holiday table rather than a weeknight. Most butchers will form and tie it for you from rib chops on request, since shaping it at home is fiddly.
Roasting a Crown Roast
The center hollow is usually left empty during cooking and filled with stuffing only near the end, or roasted empty and filled with vegetables to serve. Stuffing it the whole time slows the roast and can leave the stuffing underdone where it touches raw meat.
Roast it in a moderate oven, around 350°F (175°C), and cook to temperature, not time. Pull it at 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part of the meat, away from bone, then rest it 15 minutes for juicy, faintly pink pork.
Merrie Crown Roast of Pork follows this classic stuff-and-roast approach for a centerpiece.
The most common mistake is overcooking. Those exposed rib bones and the open shape lose heat fast, so the thin outer meat dries out well before an overcooked thermometer reading. Tent the bone tips with foil to keep them from charring, and trust the thermometer.
Substitutes and Storage
If you want the flavor without the theater, a plain bone-in rack of pork or a standing rib roast gives the same meat with far less fuss, much like Pork Roast in a Pot. A boneless pork loin roast is leaner and easier to carve but loses the dramatic presentation.
Buy a crown roast a day or two ahead and keep it cold and loosely covered in the fridge; cook within two days. Leftover sliced pork keeps three to four days refrigerated, or freezes up to three months.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 猪肉烤冠
- British (UK) term
- Pork crown roast
- en français
- couronne rôti de porc
- en español
- cerdo asado corona
Recipes using pork crown roast
There are 2 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Pork Roast in a Pot
A Sweety tasting pork roast which comes apart when removing from pot. Great Diferent plavor than most other pork roasts.
Merrie Crown Roast of Pork
Crown roast of pork roasted low and slow, filled with stuffing midway through cooking. A show-stopping centerpiece for holiday dinners and special occasions.
