Delicious Crown Pork Roast recipe for a tender juicy rack of pork loin roasted with a cranberry apple stuffing. An impressive holiday dinner!
Classic Stuffed Crown Roast is a showstopping Dinner for special occasions like Christmas and Easter. Beautifully trimmed, succulent pork chops wrapped around a delicious apple cranberry stuffing is sure to wow your guests. For more gorgeous, delicious roasted Pork Recipes, try my Herb Crusted Pork Rib Roast and Roasted Garlic Herb Rack of Pork.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Crown Pork Roast Recipe
A Crown Roast is the perfect recipe for full bone-in pork loin rib roast! Not only do the bones create the stunning crown look, but they keep the meat juicy and flavorful while holding a delicious stuffing inside. It might look like a complicated dish, but my recipe is simple to follow so any home cook can master an impressive Crown Roast.
You start with a bone-in pork loin that is kept whole and wrapped around to form a crown shape before roasting. The pork crown is partially cooked alone in some herbs, then filled with an easy flavorful stuffing and then finishes roasting. It takes about 3 hours total, but the hands on time is minimal, especially if you buy your roast already trimmed!
Ingredients
- Roast Seasonings: The pork rib roast cooks initially in a simple seasoning blend of salt, pepper, and dried sage that complement the meat’s savory flavor.
- Pork Crown Roast: You’ll need a whole bone-in pork loin rib roast to make a pork roast crown with stuffing. The whole rib roast wraps around the stuffing and the trimmed bones make an extra beautiful presentation. An 8-9 pound crown roast of pork will have 14 ribs and should feed 6-8 people.
- Butter: You will want to use unsalted butter since you are also adding your own seasoning, plus pork is naturally slightly salty.
- Aromatics: The aromatic veggies, onion and celery, are cooked in butter first to release more flavor in the stuffing while it cooks.
- Apples: Sweet apples and savory pork are a perfect match! You can use any kind of apple, although I do recommend firm baking apples for the best flavor and texture. Green apples, Fuji apples, and Honey Crisp apples are all great baking apples.
- Cranberries: To give an extra burst of tart, fruity flavor I added dried cranberries to this stuffing. Since they are dried, you can make this dish any time of year, but also feel free to swap in fresh cranberries when they are in season.
- Thyme: The fresh thyme adds a delicious woody, garden-herb flavor that balances perfectly with the savory and sweet flavors. To use dried thyme, reduce the amount to ½ teaspoon. You can also use fresh rosemary instead of thyme, or do a mixture of herbs.
- Bread Cubes: You’ll need 8 cups of cubed day-old bread for the stuffing. You want the bread to be stale so that it soaks up the broth and juices without getting soggy.
- Chicken Broth: The chicken broth adds an extra layer of savory flavor and keeps the stuffing from drying out.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Aluminium Foil: You want to wrap the bone tips with aluminum foil so they don’t burn during the long roasting time.
- Roasting Pan: You want to use a shallow roasting pan to help catch the juices and it should be large enough to hold the pork without it touching the sides.
- Cooking Twine: To keep the crown shape, use cooking twine to secure the ends of the Crown Roast.
How to Make
Time needed: 3 hours and 15 minutes.
- Prep Work
Preheat your oven. Mix the salt, pepper and sage in a small bowl.
- Shape and Season
Wrap your roast, bone up, in the pan in a circle shape and secure the two end bones with cooking twine. Season the meat with the salt mixture.
- Roast the Pork Crown
Wrap the exposed bone tips individually with aluminum foil. Roast the pork for 90 minutes.
- Start the Stuffing
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onion and celery until they are just softened.
- Mix the Stuffing
In a large bowl, add the cooked onion mixture along with the apples, cranberries, thyme, salt, pepper, and bread cubes. Mix everything to combine. Add the chicken broth and stir again.
- Stuff the Roast
Remove the roast from the oven after 90 minutes and carefully spoon the stuffing in the center of the roast.
- Finish Roasting
Return the stuffed roast to the oven and continue cooking for another 45-60 minutes, until the internal temperature of the meat is 145 degrees.
- Rest and Serve
Once the meat is cooked, remove the roast and carefully transfer it to a serving platter. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Remove the foil from the bones and slice between the ribs to serve as individual chops.
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can trim and wrap your pork rib roast the night before then take it out of the fridge about an hour before roasting. However, once you start cooking the roast, it needs to be finished the same day, because it is unsafe to partially cook meat and then refrigerate it to cook later. You can mix the stuffing ingredients (except the broth) the night before. You want to hold off on adding the broth until right before cooking so it doesn’t get soggy.
Nutritional Facts
Tips for Making Crown Pork Roast
- To cut your cooked Crown Pork Roast, allow to rest for 15 minutes and use a carving knife. Cut similar to a cake or pie. Working around the roast, one rib at a time, angle knife towards center at a slight angle, cutting through the stuffing at the same time. Make serving easier by using a cake server or spatula.
- The most stunning part about this great recipe besides the taste, is that signature crown that comes from exposing the rib bones before roasting. While you can tackle the task of preparing the meat yourself, the easiest way is to ask the butcher to make ½ inch deep cuts between each rib and “french” the top bones, or remove meat and cartilage.
How to Store
Store: Store Crown Roast after no more than 2 hours at room temperature. Cool completely before storing. Place cooled pork and stuffing into a sealed container and refrigerate up to 3 days.
Reheat: It’s best to reheat the pork chops in a covered skillet with a splash of broth or in the oven in a foil covered pan. The stuffing is also better if you reheat it covered in the oven so it doesn’t dry out.
Freeze: Freeze the pork separately from stuffing. Cut pork into individual servings and store in an airtight container for 3 months. Stuffing will be okay for about a month.
How to Serve Crown Roast of Pork
Sides Since the Crown Roast is made with a rich flavorful stuffing, its best to serve with a simple vegetable side. Sauteed Green Beans or Sauteed Garlic Kale are perfect because they can be made in minutes on the stove top while your roast is resting.
Sauce: Just like a roasted turkey, this pork roast would taste amazing with some Cranberry Sauce. Also like turkey, you could turn the pan drippings into gravy, similar to how you make Turkey Gravy.
Frequent Questions
Crown Roast, or Pork Loin, should be cooked to a minimum of 145 degrees according to the USDA Food Safety Website. Measure internal temperature with a meat thermometer.
A Crown Pork Roast is a bone-in pork loin that has been formed into a circle with the rib bone side on top.
Plan on about 1 pound, or 2 ribs, per person when measuring how much pork to buy.
No, I don’t recommend using another cut pork for this recipe. If you want a boneless cut, try my Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 pork crown roast , 14 ribs or about 9 pounds
For Stuffing:
- 1/2 cup butter , cubed
- 1 large onion , chopped
- 1 celery rib , chopped
- 2 medium apples , peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 8 cups bread cubes
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the salt, pepper and sage.
- Place roast, rib ends up, in a large shallow roasting pan; sprinkle with salt mixture.
- Cover rib ends with foil and bake, uncovered, for 90 minutes.
- For stuffing, melt butter in a large skillet.
- Add onion and celery; saute until tender.
- Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the apples, cranberries, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Stir in broth.
- Carefully spoon stuffing into the center of roast.
- Bake 45-60 minutes longer or until the internal temperature of roast reaches 145 degrees.
- Transfer to a warm serving platter. Remove foil. Let roast stand for 15 minutes.
- Cut between ribs to serve.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Variations
Honey: Give your pork roast a sweet honey glaze. After the initial roasting, brush pork roast with a mixture of ½ cup of melted butter and ½ cup of honey before adding the stuffing. During the last 15 minutes, brush the outside of the roast again and finish cooking.
Pecans: Add more fall flavor by making an apple pecan stuffing. Replace the cranberries with chopped toasted pecans.
Extra Stuffing Flavors: Add some ground Italian sausage to make your stuffing more savory and rich. Shallots can replace half of your onions or you can add a diced carrot or two. Swap fresh mushrooms for cranberries for a tasty mushroom stuffing. Swap the cranberries for cherries or use pears for apples.
Related Recipes
More Amazing Roast Pork Recipes
