Smoked Pork Crown Roast with a Garlic Herb Crust
On November 25, 2019 (Updated April 17, 2022)
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This Smoked Pork Crown Roast is as delicious as it is beautiful. It makes the perfect centerpiece at your fancy holiday dinner, and your guests will leave impressed and satisfied.
Smoked Pork Crown Roast
Pork crown roast is an amazingly tasty cut of pork that is a fun a festive entree to make for a special gathering or holiday party. Pork crown roast is essentially two racks of ribs that are shaped into a circle and tied with twine to give it a breathtaking final look.
And don’t let the look of this bad boy intimidate you. You can easily make your own pork crown roast at home and cook it on the smoker. But watch yourself! Presenting this GORGEOUS entree to your guests will give you a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. Don’t let it all go to your head!
Smoked Crown Roast for Christmas
This smoked crown roast is the perfect centerpiece for your Christmas dinner feast. Not only does it taste amazing, but it looks completely incredible in the middle of your table. It provides an instant “wow” factor, and it will most definitely convince your guests that you are a gourmet chef (even if you’re not).
Even if you already have a Christmas dinner tradition, I highly recommend trying this at a holiday party or making it the main course for Christmas Eve. With a serving size of 14 (1 chop and bone per person), you’ll be sure to have enough for everyone in your family!
How to Prepare a Crown Roast of Pork
A crown roast of pork is two racks of pork with the bones stood up on end and tied together. Each rack of pork individually can also be labeled a pork rib roast or a bone in center-cut pork loin.
If you’re lucky, you can find a butcher that will happily prep this cut for you or will already have prepared crown pork roasts in the display case. If that’s not the case, you can prepare this beautiful piece of meat on your own with a filet/boning knife and some butcher’s twine.
- Purchase your meat. You will want two bone-in racks of pork (typically 7-8 bones) that are close to the same size and weight. I found mine at Costco, but you may need to order a pork roast this size from your butcher a day or two in advance.
- Trim your roasts. Begin by removing any fat cap or silver skin from the top of your roast. Then use your fillet or boning knife to remove the fat and meat from in between the bones and on top of the bones, leaving about an inch and a half of the bone connected to the roast. Flip the roast over and cut 2 inch slits between each bone. (See the image above for the front and back of how the roast should look when trimmed.).
- Tie the roasts together. Place the roasts on a flat rack above a baking sheet (lined with foil for easier clean-up). You’ll want the side with the bones facing out. Start by tying the two roasts on one end so the meat and bones line up. Use butcher’s twine wrapped around the end bone of each rib and tie it tightly together. Bend the end of each roast and connect the remaining two end bones together to form a circular roast with the bones pointing upwards. Secure the remaining two end bones with more butcher’s twine. Shift the bones and roast as needed to make the shape as uniform and circular as possible and then tie with two additional pieces of butcher’s twine around the outside of the entire roast.
Now you’re ready to get on with the best part, seasoning and smoking!
How to Smoke a Pork Crown Roast
Pork crown roast is basically the prime rib of pork. It’s delicious and tender, and it tastes amazing cooked on your smoker. So here’s the low down on getting this guy perfectly seasoned at cooked to perfection:
- Get the smoke going. Preheat your smoker (I wouldn’t dream of smoking this on anything but my Camp Chef SmokePro) to 275 degrees F. Try out hickory, alder, or pecan for this smoke.
- Tie the roast. See the section above for details on how to fully prepare your roast for seasoning.
- Make the herb paste. Mix all ingredients for the paste in a blender jar or food processor. Mix until a smooth paste forms. Set the paste aside.
- Prep your roast. Smooth the herb paste on the outside of the roast. Avoid the exposed bone. Tear off a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil (about 36″). Fold it in half lengthwise and in half again, and press it over the exposed bones to fully cover (see pic above).
- Smoke the pork crown roast. Place the roast directly on the smoker, close the lid, and smoke for 4 1/2 hours (or until the internal temp of the roast reaches 125 degrees F).
- Roast the roast. Remove the foil from the bones, increase your smoker’s temp to 450 degrees F, and roast the crown roast for another 15-30 minutes until your meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
- Rest, slice, and serve. Rest the roast for around 30 minutes. Slice in between the bones to create individual chops for your guests. Serve hot.
More Pork Recipes
Ready to try some other fancy pork recipes? Hey Grill Hey has everything from the basics to the fancy-smancy. Try out a few today!
Schwenkbraten (Smoked Pork Chops)
Smoked Pork Sirloin Roast
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Beer and Mustard Glaze
Best Smoked Pork Crown Roast Recipe
Follow the recipe below and let’s make something delicious! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind the scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
Cooking a holiday dinner for your family should be stress-free, and Hey Grill Hey is here to help! Over at Patio Provisions, we have sauces, rubs, and more to help you make the most of your holiday planning. Check it out today!
Smoked Pork Crown Roast
Ingredients
- 8-10 pounds prepared pork crown roast bones Frenched and roast tied
Herb Paste
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 Tablespoons stone ground mustard
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 275 degrees F. Good woods include hickory, alder, or pecan woods.
- If your roast is not already prepared (tied and ready to cook), refer to the post for preparation instructions. Most butchers will do this for you, you just need to ask first. These instructions begin as if you have a roast ready to cook.
- Mix all the ingredients for the herb paste in a blender jar or food processor and pulse until well combined and a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
- Place the roast on a flat rack above a rimmed baking sheet.
- Smooth the paste over the outside of the roast, avoiding the exposed tips of the bone. Tear a large sheet of aluminum foil, (about 36 inches). Fold it in half lengthwise and in half again, and set it over the exposed bones and press tightly to secure.
- Place the roast on the smoker, close the lid, and smoke for 4 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the roast reads 125 degrees F.
- Remove the foil from the bones. Increase the heat on your smoker to 450 degrees F, and roast for 15-30 minutes to reach a target internal tempers 145 degrees F.
- Remove the roast from the smoker, allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes. Slice in between the bones, cutting the roast into individual chops. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was amazing! I only did 1 rack, so I adjusted the paste recipe down, and had to play with the smoker temps, but the flavor was great.I also took Sean Spicer’s advice and did a 12 hour brine prior to smoking. Soooo good!Thank you!
Probably the best pork I have ever pulled off of my smoker.
Which rib cut did you use, back, spare?
I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was AWESOME! This is an incredible recipe. I am constantly worried about dry pork when smoking, so when I made mine, I brined for just under 12 hours with the following brine:-1 Gallon Water-1cup salt-1/2cup granulated sugar-2 heads of garlic smashed, not peeled.-2 Red onions cut into 6ths-8 bay leaves-Fistfulls of fresh rosemary and thymeBut, OMG, this was so good! Susie, you nailed it yet again! The entire family was impressed, including my Italian grandmother in law. So much so, that my wife didn’t flinch when I ordered a new smoker a week later. 🙂
Curious…how would reheat this if you were forced to prepare the day before?
Low and slow in the oven will work great!
Going to do two but side by side because of the way we serve. Is their an injection you would recommend? We have had pork that is too dry.
When you say stone ground mustard, is this mustard seed that you have ground, or a prepared mustard?
It’s prepared mustard in a bottle.
How long would you cook a single pork loin on a smoker? I would love to just put it on without tying it.
You can absolutely do this recipe without tying it!
Worked like a charm, thank you! A trimmed 6lb roast reached 125 degrees in just over 2hrs @275.
Hi there! If we purchased only one roast (7~8 Bones), would you recommend cutting in half the tying the bones?
That will work!!
It’s gonna be tight to form a circle from only one rack. That’s the main reason they recipe for two.