Last Updated on December 8, 2023 by Carne Diem
Protein:
Origin: North American
Method: Smoker
Jump to RecipeThis Smoked Pork Crown roast is one of the best smoked Christmas recipes you will find. This elegant standing pork roast recipe looks like something off the cover of a food magazine, but in reality, is a pretty simple dish to make. For those of you, like me, that love making Holiday foods on your grill or smoker, this is one Christmas recipe you will want to try.
Table of contents
What is a Pork Crown Roast
A pork crown roast is an elegant way to cook and display pork standing rib roasts. To make a crown pork roast, bone-in pork loin roasts have the bones French trimmed and then the 2 standing ribs roasts are tied together in a circle to form a crown.
Making the Smoked Crown of Pork Roast
To make this Holiday pork crown roast you will need 2 rack of pork roasts, about 6-8 bones each. You will also need fresh herbs and butter or oil for seasoning the pork roast.
Prepping the Pork for the Standing Pork Rib Roast
Remove the bone-in pork loin roasts from the packaging. If necessary, remove any excess meat from the Frenched bones. Place the standing pork roasts on a cutting board and tie the end bones from each roast together with cooking twine. Make some shallow cuts between each of the bones then form the pork roasts into a circle. The bones should be on the outside of the crown roast (the ends of the bones should be pointing up and toward the outside of the pork crown roast. Secure the other 2 end bones with butcher twine. If needed, you can use a couple wooden skewers to help hold the shape of the crown roast.
For more great pork recipes for your grill or smoker check our some of our best pork recipes here:
- Barbeque Char Siu
- Kalua Pork: Hawaiian Pulled Pork
- Authentic Schwenkbraten: German Swinging Pork
- Smoked Pernil- Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder
- Spanish Cochinillo Asado: Roast Suckling Pig
- Trompo Al Pastor Tacos on Your Grill
- Kansas City Tomahawk Style Pork Chops
- Grilled Italian Sausage Pasta with Arrabbiata Sauce
Prepare the Herb Rub for the Pork Roast
Remove the thyme leaves from the stems and finely chop the herbs. Prepare the pork crown roast rub by mixing your herbs, minced garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper with the olive oil. Butter or tallow can also be substituted for the oil. We highly recommend using fresh herbs for the herb seasoning. Mix the herbs and seasonings with the oil until a paste is formed. Rub the outside and inside of the pork rib roast with the herb seasoning.
Cover the Frenched bones to prevent burning
Next cover each of the exposed bones with a bit of foil or paper frill booties. This helps keep the ends of the bone from burning or charring and preserves the appearance of the crown roast.
Cooking a Pork Crown Roast on Your Grill or Smoker
To cook a crown of pork roast on your grill or smoker, set up for indirect heat and preheat the smoker to 250 degrees. We prepared this Smoked Pork Crown Roast on our Big Green Egg but any smoker type will do like a Traeger or pellet smoker.
We recommend smoking the pork crown roast on a cast iron pan or roasting dish to help catch the drippings from the pork loin roast. In addition to saving on clean up and decreasing flare ups it also lets you cook veggies or potatoes in the pan with the pork. We love to add some baby potatoes around the roast about the last hour of cooking to roast in the pan drippings.
Making a Stuffed Pork Crown Roast
In the past we have stuffed the center of the crown of pork with some of our favorite stuffing like our White Castle Holiday Stuffing. This is a perfectly ok way to prepare the pork, but note that it will increase the cooking time, sometimes substantially. Now when we make a smoked stuffed pork crown roast, we wait to add the stuffing until about 1.5 hours into the cook. If stuffing the pork crown roast, be certain that the stuffing has also reached a safe cook temp prior to serving.
Smoke the Pork Crown Roast on your grill or smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. We pull ours off at about 135 because we know the carryover temp will take it the rest of the way to the USDA safe temp. Figure about 20 minutes per pound but cook times can vary. Every piece of meat is different and different smokers cook at different rates, even at the same temp, so please just monitor the internal temperature.
Serving the Smoked Pork Rib Roast
Remove the pork rib roast from the smoker and let rest for about 5 minutes. Move the smoked pork crown roast to a cutting board and slice between the bones into individual bone in rib chops.
Serve the Smoked Pork Crown Roast with your favorite holiday sides like Holiday Stuffing with Truffle Sausage, Grilled Apple Cranberry Salad, Grilled Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts, and Smoked Potatoes Au Gratin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Figure about 20 minutes per pound for a smoked pork crown roast or roughly 4 hours for a 12-pound crown of pork. If you are stuffing the roast, this will add more cooking time. As always, these times are estimates and it is best to monitor your cook with a temperature probe. The pork is done when it reaches an internal temp of 140 degrees in the thickest part of the roast.
Hands down the best way to reheat pork is with a sous vide. Vacuum seal the leftover pork and reheat in the sous vide at 140 degrees. If you do not own a sous vide the next best option is to wrap the roasted pork in foil with a little water and reheat in the oven until rewarmed. Please don't even think about microwaving the smoked pork roast.
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📖 Recipe
Smoked Pork Crown Roast
Equipment
- Butcher's Twine
Ingredients
- 2 6-8 bone Standing Pork Rib Roasts about 6 pounds each
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme Leaves Removed from stems
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Sage finely diced
- 2 teaspoon Fresh Rosemary finely diced
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
Instructions
- If the bones have not been Frenched, carefully cut about 1 inches of meat from around the ends of the bones. Make sallow slits between each of the rib bones.
- Tie together the end bones from one end each of the roasts, using butcher's twine. Form into a circle with the bones facing out and secure the other 2 end bones together.
- In a small bowl, combine the diced herbs, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil and mix to make a paste.
- Rub the inside and outside of the rib roast with the herb paste.
- Preheat your smoker, grill, or oven to 250 degrees and set up for indirect heat.
- Place the pork crown roast in a cast iron pan or roasting pan and cook until it reaches and internal temperature of 140 degrees. The crown roast should take roughly 20 minutes per pound or about 4 hours, but be certain to monitor the internal temperature.
- When the pork crown roast is done cooking, remove it from the smoker and rest for about 5-10 minutes. Slice the crown roast between the bones into individual pork chops and serve while warm.
Julia
Cooked this for Christmas Eve along with your beef tallow prime rib. Family raved about both recipes. Thanks for sharing
Carne Diem
So happy you enjoyed the recipes! We love the feedback.