DESCRIPTION
Looking for something to wow a crowd? Look no further than this easy, impressive pork crown roast.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dried herb blend (Italian herb blend, herbes de Provence, or make your own)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. pepper
- 1 (16-rib) pork rib crown roast (about 10 lbs.) (see notes)
- About 6 ribs celery (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix together the herbs, salt, and pepper. Rub it all over pork.
- Put the pork on a rack in a roasting pan with the ribs pointing up. If you don’t have a rack use about 6 stalks of celery arranged in the pan.
- Roast until the internal temperature is 135°F 14-18 minutes per pound (150°F if you prefer well-done pork, 16-23 minutes per pound). Transfer roast to rimmed plate and cover with foil to rest for 30 minutes. Pour drippings out of pan, rinse out pan, and wipe it down.*
- Meanwhile, increase the oven to 475°F.
- Put the roast into the hot oven uncovered for 10 minutes, until the meat is nicely browned. Check that the internal temperature is at least 145°F.
- Take the roast to the table, carve between the rib bones, and serve immediately.
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Notes
- A crown roast is pork loin rib roasts formed into a circle, ribs up. It makes for a really beautiful presentation. You can form the crown yourself, but since you probably have to call ahead for pork loin rib roasts anyway, ask your butcher to do it for you. A typical crown is two 8-rib racks, to serve 16 people, but it could be made with more racks to accommodate bigger crowds.
- For even more flavorful meat, brine the pork before you roast it. But if you do, use the full amount of salt in the brine recipe but cut the salt in the above recipe to 1 and 1/4 teaspoons. See here for how to brine and why it makes such a difference.
*This step is done so that any drippings in the pan don’t burn when you put the pan back into the oven at a hot temperature. You really want a clean roasting pan for that step. If not using the drippings in the roasting pan, just pour them out, rinse the pan, and wipe it dry. If using the drippings to make gravy, first, pour them out of the roasting pan. Then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water or stock to the roasting pan and swish it around. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any flavorful browned bits. Add this liquid to your drippings. Then rinse out the pan and wipe it dry before adding the roast back to the pan.