Crown Roast of Pork with Apple Stuffing

If you’re looking for an impressive, delicious entree, this Crown Roast of Pork Recipe is the answer! Meaty pork ribs are tied into a ring making the perfect “bowl” for the apple pecan stuffing. It’s the star of the menu and worthy of any special occasion!

You’ll need to go to your butcher to ask for enough bone-in pork loin to tie into a ring. We purchased two 6-rib loins. Once it’s tied, season well, then roast, and wait to the add stuffing until after the Crown Pork Roast is partially cooked. This elegant main dish looks worthy of royalty, plus it’s mighty tasty.

Why You Must Make

• This stuffed crown pork roast is definitely a delicious, impressive entree.
• It’s a rather expensive investment, but that makes it perfect for a holiday or a very special occasion.
• It’s not your ordinary dinner fare, so be prepared for rave reviews! I served this to my dinner club this month and it was definitely a hit.

Ingredient Notes

• Kitchen Staples – Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Fresh Garlic, Olive Oil
• Pork Rib Roasts – We used two for a total of 12 ribs. Note that these can be pricy.
• Fresh Thyme and Fresh Sage – Remove stems.
• Yellow Onion – Outer skins removed, and chopped.
• Granny Smith Apples – Peeled, cored, and chopped.
• Dried Cranberries – Also known as Craisins, to add to stuffing, optional. Soak in warm water to plump them up if desired.
• Pecans – Gently toasts in a dry skillet to bring out their essential oils (means more flavor).
• Chicken Broth – I used Pacific brand. To moisten stuffing.
• Hearty Bread – Remove crusts if desired, cut into 1-1½ cubes (for stuffing).
• Flat Leaf Parsley – Chopped, optional to garnish before serving.

How to Make

• The day before you plan to roast your pork, season well with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, plus herbs and garlic if desired. Salting well ahead of time allows for penetration under the surface of the meat making your pork more flavorful.
• The next day, if your butcher hasn’t formed your ribs into a crown, use butchers twine to create a circle with the two racks. Knot securely and place your crown roast into a rimmed, oven safe roaster or baking dish.
• PRO-Tip: To prevent the tips of the bones from burning, you can cover them with foil.
• PRO-Tip: And to make your cooked roast look restaurant-worthy, add paper “frills” to cover the bone tips before roasting.
• Prepare your stuffing, add it to the opening in the center of the roast. Tent with foil to prevent the top of the stuffing from getting too dark.
• Use a meat thermometer and roast to an internal temperature of 140°. Remove the foil from the stuffing to let it brown during the last 15-30 minutes of the roasting time.
• Let the pork crown roast rest for 30 minutes, covered with foil, after you remove it from the oven. This allows the internal juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
• Remove the stuffing from the roast and place it into a serving dish.
• Slice the roast into chops and serve.
• PRO-Tip: If desired, you can make gravy with the pan juices, flour, and chicken stock plus salt and pepper as needed.

Our Menu

If you’re planning a dinner party, here is the rest of our menu! We host our dinner club once a year, so I’m always looking for inspiration, too.

• Kahlua Caramel Pecan Baked Brie
• Spinach, Strawberry, Pomegranate and Feta Salad
• Crown Pork Roast with Apple Pecan Stuffing – The full recipe is below.
• Lemon Meringue Pie

Recipe Tips

• Have your butcher prepare your ribs, frenching the bones, and forming them into a ring (though the latter isn’t hard to do at home).
• Use butcher’s twine to tie together the roast. You can find this at larger supermarkets and meat markets. It’s designed to be food-safe.
• I placed a drinking glass in the center to help create a nice round opening for the stuffing while it rested overnight in the refrigerator.
• PRO-Tip: I placed a drinking glass in the center to help create a nice round opening for the stuffing while it rested overnight in the refrigerator.
• PRO-Tip: Seasoning your roast the night before you plan to cook it is key to getting some of the salt to infuse into the meat, making the ribs more flavorful.
• PRO-Tip: To prevent the tips of the bones from burning, you can cover them with foil.
• PRO-Tip: And to make your cooked pork crown roast look restaurant-worthy, add paper “frills” to cover the bone tips.
• You can add pecans to the stuffing for some nice crunch. I have 2 family members that don’t like nuts, so I omitted them. If you use them, gently toast them in a skillet or in the oven on a sheet pan to bring out their essential oils (which will provide more flavor).

Frequently Asked Questions

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The Recipe:

Crown Roast of Pork Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Yield 12 servings

An elegant, impressive and delicious entree that's perfect for holiday dinners and/or dinner guests.

Ingredients

• ½ bunch thyme, leaves only
• ½ bunch fresh sage, leaves only
• 2 cloves garlic, gently smashed and minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 10 pounds pork rib roast (about 12 to 14 ribs)

Apple Pecan Stuffing:

• 5 cups cubes of hearty bread (crusts removed), cut into 1-inch pieces, and dried overnight on a sheet pan.
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for finishing
• ½ bunch fresh sage
• ½ bunch fresh thyme
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
• 1 ½ cups raw pecans, optional, I did not use.
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• ¼ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish before serving, optional

Instructions

1. Finely chop the thyme, sage, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste, and mash to break up herbs and garlic. Add enough olive oil to make a paste.
2. Take a crown roast of pork and if your butcher hasn't already prepared it, clean the bones of meat with a boning knife (French them) and make a small cut into the meat in between each rib so you can bend it into a circle easily.
3. Rub the pork all over with the herb mixture. With the ribs on the outside, form the ribs into a circle so the ends meet and secure with kitchen twine so it holds its crown shape.
4. Place in a roasting pan.
5. Fill the cavity with Apple Pecan Stuffing.
6. Cover the stuffing and the tips of the rib bones with foil then place the whole roast in the oven and bake for 2 hours and 20 minutes, an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should register 150 degrees F when done.
7. About 30 to 45 minutes before the roast is done, remove the foil to brown the stuffing and create a crust. Remove from the oven, loosely cover with foil, and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting.

Apple Pecan Stuffing:

1. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and onions to the pan, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes until caramelized. Season with salt and pepper. Remove onions from pan, add apples, and cook until tender.
2. Place the bread cubes into a large mixing bowl. Add caramelized onions, apples, and chopped parsley.
3. Add enough chicken broth to soften the bread cubes without making them mushy. If your broth is unsalted, add salt and then pepper. Using a wooden spoon, mix the stuffing until well combined.
4. When ready to roast the pork, add the stuffing to the center of the crown roast. Cover with foil so the top doesn't burn. You'll want to remove the foil and the end of the roasting time to brown the top of the stuffing, about 30 minutes before the roast is done.
5. Roast until a meat thermometer reads 150º.
6. Cover with foil and let rest for 30 minutes to allow the juices in the pork to redistribute.
7. Remove foil and spoon the stuffing into a serving dish. Slice between the bones to make individual chops, sprinkle with parsley if desired and plate with side dishes of your choice.

Notes

Cover the tips of the bones with foil to prevent them from burning. Cover the stuffing once it's browned as well.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Cuisinart 7117-16UR Chef's Classic Stainless 16-Inch Rectangular Roaster with Rack, Roaster Rack
• 
  Kosher Salt
• 
  Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer
• 
  OXO Cutting Board
• 
  California Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 
  Garlic Press

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1495Total Fat: 117gSaturated Fat: 43gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 61gCholesterol: 315mgSodium: 413mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 89g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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