Smoking a Pork Crown Roast

portlandroger · Dec 24, 2012

Hello!

I'm in Portland Oregon and enjoy my Weber Smokey Mountain, for ribs, butts, fish & briskets although

I've never cooked a Pork Crown Roast.

On Christmas I'm going to give it a try. Typically, for ribs, butts and briskets I like to use Hickory, and for

fish I use alder. For the pork, I put a thick smoke on my meats, and like my rubs on the spicy side... like a

BBQ - but for Christmas I'm not thinking a Texas B-B-Q flavor. I'm thinking something more sophisticated,

a lighter smoke, maybe with apple, cherry or pecan (all of which I've never used).

So the questions:

1.What wood might be best?

2. Is brining necessary for a Crown roast? If yes, what type of brine, how much - how long?

3. How about a rub? I was thinking of garlic, brown sugar, fresh thyme, sage, rosemary & olive oil,

salt, pepper - similar to the way you might cook it in an oven, only with some smoke. Maybe you have

a better idea for my rub??

4. How long does it take to get 10 lbs of Crown roast up to about 145°?

What am I forgetting?

Anything to add?

I'm all ears, as I'd like to make this feast "better" than the typical oven roasted Crown Roast.

Thanks for any & all advice!

bama bbq · Dec 24, 2012

1.What wood might be best? I think your choice of apple is a good one. I like apple with pork and poultry.

2. Is brining necessary for a Crown roast? If yes, what type of brine, how much - how long? It is not required but I do recommend using salt to cover it (about 4 TBS) and wrap in plastic wrap for 6 to 24 hours in the frig. I got this from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook -- their stuff is tested and works.

3. How about a rub? I was thinking of garlic, brown sugar, fresh thyme, sage, rosemary & olive oil,

salt, pepper - similar to the way you might cook it in an oven, only with some smoke. Maybe you have a better idea for my rub?? I would use the salt rub but yours sounds pretty good. I am a simpler is better kinda guy.

4. How long does it take to get 10 lbs of Crown roast up to about 145°? About 1.5 hours or so at 325*. YMMV. Let it rest a long time - about 30 min - while tented with foil.

portlandroger · Dec 25, 2012

Thanks for your help.

In a Smoky Mt. Cooker, how much apple would you use?

With Hickory, I'd normally use 4 - 5 chunks about 1/2 the size

of a fist. Gets most pork pretty smoky... but I'm not familiar with

how much apple is good, or how much apple might be overpowering.

I have a bucket of dry apple in my shed, that I can easily use.

chef jimmyj · Dec 25, 2012

Follow the same plan as with Hickory. You will get the same general amount of smoke but overall Apple is a lot less intense...JJ

rtbbq2 · Dec 25, 2012

I like to use a stronger wood along with the apple wood, like hickory, mesquite or oak. Some of my favorites are:

Hickory and cherry

Mesquite and apple

Oak and alder

Bourbon/Jack Daniels and apple

I really like the mix of fruitwood and a stronger smoke wood unless I smoke fish. When doing fish, I just use alder my favorite, apple or cherry. Any fruitwood works well though other than what I listed. Orange grapefuit pear, maple and pecan are all melllow and suttle. Even lilac is good and smokes like crazy so use it sparingly..

Here is a few links for you to check out.

http://www.smoking-meat.com/barbecue-woods.html

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/meat-smoking/wood

Merry Christmas...........

portlandroger · Dec 25, 2012

Thanks for the advice.

I took it off the brine at 12 hours.

Can you tell me about how long a 10.32 lb Crown Roast should take to cook at 225°?

chefboyartie · Dec 27, 2012

how did it turn out ? any advise ? has i will be smokin a 8.5lb today.

portlandroger · Dec 27, 2012

chefboyartie said:
how did it turn out ? any advise ? has i will be smokin a 8.5lb today.

Update!

I brined the 10.37lb Pork Crown Roast for 12 hours, with the recipe above from Jimmy J,

then cooked it at 225° - 245° (mostly in the 225° range), using apple chunks.

At 145° IT, (3.5 hrs cooking time) I removed it, covered it with a foil tent for 30 mins,

then dribbled cranberry compote on it and served it. It looked pretty good.

Here's a before photo: (the red is the cranberry compote)

Crown Ready to Eat.JPG

portlandroger
Dec 26, 2012

And an after dinner photo:

Crown After Dinner.JPG

portlandroger
Dec 26, 2012

Everybody loved it, but I have some questions that I hope someone can explain to me,

because the meat did not come out like I like it...

The roast had a nice presentation. The meat was a bit pink, which I like... but it

was hard to cut, which I don't like. It didn't feel (in the mouth) particularly tough, but

it was 'hard' to cut with a table knife - like it was really tough - which distracted from the

presentation, etc.

I'd like to learn how to cook this cut, so it not only looks great, but tastes and feels great.

Any ideas why it came out tough and what I could do next time so the meat cuts as well

as it looks and tastes? BTW, it did not fall off the bone, like ribs do, if that means anything...

portlandroger · Dec 27, 2012

I contacted the farmer / processor and asked about the tough texture. For what it's worth, here's what they said:

It is the smoking process that will dry the outside of the product out, which will make it harder to cut.

Two things will contribute to it feeling tough. Smoking dries out the meat and will make it less tender than baking it. The other possibility is that it was too lean and that would make it dry and tough. When you want to smoke it leave more fat on the outside of the roast. The crown presentation is beautiful, but the Crown Roast is not really meant to be smoked.

Wrapping it into a Crown Roast has nothing to do with the texture of the product. There are just some products that are better for smoking than others. We normally suggest 325° for about 90 min, (watching the temperature carefully) with an internal temp of 140°. We always recommend using an internal temp because all ovens cook so differently.

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Smoking a Pork Crown Roast

portlandroger

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bama bbq

Master of the Pit

portlandroger

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chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

rtbbq2

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portlandroger

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chefboyartie

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Crown Ready to Eat.JPG

Crown After Dinner.JPG

portlandroger

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