Ingredients
- 1 (10 bone) Heritage Farm Cheshire Pork Crown Roast Pork Loin
- Smoke on Wheels BBQ Marinade
- Oakridge BBQ Dominator Sweet Rib Rub
For the Apple Stuffing:
- 3 cups dried bread, torn into small pieces
- 8 oz thick cut bacon, diced 1/2”
- 1 1/2 cups sweet yellow onion. sliced thin
- Noble Saltworks Whiskey Barrel Smoked Salt
- 1 1/2 cups granny smith apples, peeled, diced
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, minced
- 3/4 cup hard apple cider
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 350ºF (no second shelf needed).
Tear up about 3 cups of crusty Italian bread. Spread across a sheet pan. Place the sheet pan on the grill and allow the bread to dry out for about 45 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Make shallow vertical slices in between the bones and on the loin down the bone side of the rack to allow the rack to be manipulated into a crown shape, with the bone side of the rack facing outward.
Place the rack in a plastic wrap lined baking dish. Pour one bottle of Smoke on Wheels BBQ Marinade over the pork and make sure it is fully coated in the marinade. Wrap the pork in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 60-90 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the stuffing. Start by cooking the bacon in a Lodge 5 Quart Dutch Oven. When the bacon is browned and the bacon fat has been rendered out into the dutch oven. Remove the bacon and set aside for later. Remove all but about three tablespoons of the bacon fat and discard.
Add the sliced onions and a few shakes of Noble Saltworks Whiskey Barrel Smoked Salt. Stir and cook the onions over medium to medium-low heat until softened and slightly caramelized, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. If the onions are beginning to scorch, lower the heat.
When the onions are caramelized, add the diced apples, hazelnuts and sage leaves. Cook just until the apples start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the hard apple cider and heavy cream and remove the dutch oven from the heat source. Stir in the dried out bread. The bread should be mostly soaked in the liquid, but still hold its form. If more liquid is needed, feel free to add cider or chicken/vegetable stock. Taste the stuffing and adjust salt level as needed. Allow the stuffing to cool slightly before stirring in the beaten eggs. Set aside.
Increase the temperature of the grill to 425ºF.
Remove the pork from the marinade. Wipe off excess marinade. Season generously with Oakridge BBQ Dominator Sweet Rib Rub.
Bring the ends of the rack of pork together to form the brown shape. Skewer them together to hold while tying. Tie the crown roast around the top/bones as well as the bottom/loin to hold in the crown form. Add more seasoning, as needed. Transfer the roast to a wire rack over a sheet pan.
Place your stuffing in the center of the crown roast, pressing it down into the center, then mounding it in the middle. Cover the Frenched bones and stuffing with foil to prevent them from getting too dark in color.
Place the wire rack and sheet pan on the main cooking surface of the grill. Cook at 425ºF for one hour. Remove the foil from the top of the roast. Continue cooking until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 145ºF in the deepest part of the center of the crown roast, about 2 – 2.5 hours total. Remove from the grill and rest for 20 minutes.
Slice the Crown Rack of Pork in between the bones to serve individual pork chops alongside the stuffing from the center of the roast.
(All Things Barbecue; The Sauce)
www.atbbq.com/thesauce
