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From the moment I purchased the book Smoke N Spice, I have been wanting to try a Crown Roast of Pork on the grill.  I finally did get a chance this past weekend, but used a recipe from one of the Weber cookbooks as the fresh herbs intrigued me.  I was actually lucky as I decided to do this on short notice and the local butcher shop was able to get me one the day I planned on cooking it.  Normally you will need to give a butcher 2 to 3 days notice, as it takes a good amount of preparation time for them to prepare the roast.

The recipe is pretty simple:

  • 10 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, finely ground,
  • 1 crown roast of pork, 7 to 8 pounds, tied in a circle

Instructions:

  • Mix together the garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, and peppercorns together in a small bowl, mix well with a fork.
  • Spread the rub all over the roast and let sit at room temperature for one hour before grilling.
  • Grill over high indirect heat for 30 minutes, then reduce the temp to medium and grill indirectly until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
  • Remove from the grill and wrap with aluminum foil for about 30 minutes.
  • Remove string and cut between the rib bones and serve

Well I got a 10 pound roast as the butcher says it is the smallest they can do it.  Plus I wanted a bit more rub on the roast.  I ended up using about 4 tablespoons of rosemary, 3 tablespoons of sage, and a full teaspoon of pepper.

To be honest, it had a good flavor, but I was not overly impressed.  For the price of the roast, it really was not worth it.  It was basically a fancy way of doing pork chops.  Plus the flavor of the rub did not get into the meat at all.  Here is my recommendation for a grilled crown roast of pork:

  • Brine the roast, using a brine that will inject a lot of flavor into the meat, such as Smokin' Okie's Holiday Turkey Brine.  I would probably let it brine for a full 24 hours, if you don't want to brine, inject it with some flavor.
  • Need a good BBQ Rub and lots of it, I would use Jay's BBQ Rub (yes mine), rub it good, and let it sit on there for probably 8 hours before grilling.
  • Next you will need a good mop.  I would probably do something that would be a mixture of apple juice (2 cups), cider vinegar (4 tablespoons), and about 1/4 cup of the BBQ rub.  Then mop it every 30-60 minutes on the grill.
  • When the temp reaches about 130 degrees, sauce it up with a good Carolina BBQ Sauce.

Now that sounds like a good tasting roast!