When you want to cook up deliciousness in your kitchen for the holidays or a special Sunday Dinner my Oven Roasted Rack of Pork will definitely be a crowd-pleaser. It’s easy to make and can be in your oven roasting to perfection in less than 10 minutes. It will actually take longer to preheat your oven than it will to prep this lovely pork roast.
How do you cook a pork roast?
Cooking pork is really pretty easy and since the days of overcooking pork to make sure it’s safe to eat are behind us, you can now cook your pork a little less serving it pink, juicy and delicious. Of course, my recipe keeps your well-done pork roast just as tasty.
There are a few simple rules for roasting meats.
- Let the roast come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Roast at high temp 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes (30 minutes for roasts larger than 10 pounds)
- Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook approximately 15 minutes per pound till the desired doneness.
- Cook meat uncovered in your roasting pan
- Always roast fat side up
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure the roast is at the temperature you desire. Remember your roast will increase in temperature approximately 10 degrees after removing from oven.
- Medium Rare 145 degrees F; Well Done 160 degrees F.
Using a digital insta-read thermometer will help you cook the perfect pork roast.
How do I season a Pork Roast?
I have two tried and true methods for roasting meats.
- Rub meat down with extra virgin olive oil and crushed garlic. Sprinkle liberally with Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper (or use Montreal Beef Seasoning)
- Coat the top of the roast with Dijon or Stone Ground Mustard. Sprinkle liberally with Montreal Beef Seasoning.
- Place rough cut onion, celery and carrots (including skins and leaves) in the bottom of your roasting pan.
- Add a cup of water to the bottom of the pan before roasting. You can use stock or a combination of stock, wine or water.
What ingredients to I need to make a Roasted Rack of Pork?
Other than the roast the ingredient list is short. Here we have the ingredients (mise en place) for the roasted rack of pork which includes the vegetables for the bottom of the pan and my favorite seasoning for meats, Montreal Beef Seasoning.
I prefer to use mustard with my rack of pork and for this roast, I’m using stone ground mustard, Dijon mustard or olive oil can be used instead.
Coat the top of the pork roast (fat side) liberally with mustard (or olive oil).
Coast the top of the pork roast with seasonings. I used Montreal Beef Seasoning. Feel free to use sea salt and cracked black pepper, or make your own Montreal Seasoning. I’ve included a recipe for this seasoning in the recipe box.
Add roast to a baking pan with the rough cut vegetables underneath to keep the roast off the bottom of the dish to allow air to circulate more freely around the roast. The veggies also add flavor to the pan drippings. Add one cup of water to the bottom of the pan before placing it in the oven.
Should I cover my roast when cooking?
The answer is no. And the reason is the coating of seasonings will help keep the roast moist. If you feel better covering the roast do it only for the first 45 minutes of cooking, uncovering for the rest of the cooking process.
What Should I serve with a Pork Roast?
I was in the mood for garlic mashed potatoes, and although Lisa does like garlic, it has to be worked into the dish and not overpowering.
I thought that roasting the garlic would be the best choice to add flavor while still keeping it from getting too strong, or overpowering the mashed potatoes.
The garlic worked perfectly with its creamy butter-like pieces blending into the mashed potatoes perfectly. And to add even more flavor to this dish, we needed gravy. Okay, no one really needs gravy but it makes things so much more delicious.
Serve your favorite vegetable and don’t forget the applesauce for those friends that can’t eat pork without it.
Important Tips for Roasting:
Years ago I use to serve 2 bone racks of pork in my restaurant, I would cook the larger full rack then cut them to order later in the evening after they were cooled. You have to think of these delicious pieces of roasted pork more along the lines of Prime Rib of Pork, and when you serve them they don’t have to be steaming hot. You want them to be fairly hot, but then serve them with the almost boiling pan gravy to give it that little bump. The pork will be tender and juicier than you have ever had before.
The other important factor in having this pork come out so tender and juicy is in the roasting.
Using very high temperature for a short time will sear and seal the meat, keeping the juices inside. You just want to make sure to reduce the heat of the oven to finish the slow roasting process, which not only ensures a juicy cut of meat but also helps reduce shrinkage of the product.
You also want to remember to always cook the meat with the fat side up, so the fat runs through the meat as it roasts, rather than just into the pan. Don’t worry about trimming any extra fat away before roasting, you can always remove it before serving. The fat does add flavor!
This was the most flavorful, tender piece of pork I think I have ever had, it even surprised me. I hope you do try this if you can find a good rack of pork, believe it or not, I found this rack at Costco and Sams Club for under $25.oo, who knew? I can’t wait to cook this again, but I will definitely invite some friends over to enjoy this magnificent piece of pork!
I absolutely love my Thermopro Wireless Digital Meat Thermometer. It takes all the guesswork out of cooking meats in the oven, on the grill, or in a smoker.
Recipe FAQ’s
Rack of Pork is also referred to as a pork rib roast (it may also be labeled center-cut pork loin). This cut comes from the rib area of the loin, so it contains a little more fat which helps make it more flavorful.
The safe internal pork cooking temperature for fresh cuts is 145° F. To check doneness properly, use a digital cooking thermometer.
Pork can be a little pink. The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered the recommended cooking temperature of pork to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. That may leave some pork looking pink, but the meat is still safe to eat
More Pork Recipes You’ll Love!
Oven Roasted Rack of Pork – Restaurant Style
Ingredients
- 1 7-8 bone center cut rack of pork the weight on this roast will vary. Using a meat thermometer will ensure its cooked properly.
- ¼ cup dijon mustard, stone ground mustard or olive oil
- ¼ cup sea salt & black pepper I used Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 2 carrots -rough cut
- 1 small onion-rough cut and include skins
- 2 stalks of celery- rough cut
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
Copycat Montreal Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon dill seeds
- 1 tablespoon granulated onion
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
Instructions
- preheat oven to 450 degrees
- In a roasting pan add your rough cut vegetables and garlic
- rinse the rack of pork well and pat dry
- place rack fat side up, on top of cut veggies
- apply a liberal amount of mustard (or olive oil) rubbing it into the top of the roast
- sprinkle entire rack with sea salt, pepper, garlic, and onion or just use my personal favorite Montreal Steak Seasoning instead of the other seasonings.**Add one cup of water to the bottom of the pan before roasting.
- place pan in preheated 450 degrees F oven for 15 minutes.
- after 15 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and continue to roast for 1½ – 2 hours or until internal temperature has reached 160 degrees for well done or 145 degrees for medium.
- Remove the Rack from the oven placing on a cutting board and allow to rest for 10- 20 minutes before slicing the meat. This will allow all the juices to remain in the rack, rather than have them run all over the plate, making the meat dry.
- While the rack is resting, place 2 cups of water in the roasting pan and place on the stovetop on medium heat (or back in the oven) and with a spoon loosen all the baked-in meat scraps from the pan, making your pan gravy.
- Strain out all of the vegetable pieces and any residue
- Cut the rack along the bones, making even portions of the pork, serve with your pan gravy and your favorite sides!
Video
Notes
- Let the roast come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Roast at high temp 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes (30 minutes for roasts larger than 10 pounds)
- Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook approximately 15 minutes per pound till the desired doneness.
- Cook meat uncovered in your roasting pan
- Always roast fat side up
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure the roast is at the temperature you desire.
- Remember your roast will increase in temperature approximately 10 degrees after removing from oven.
- Medium Rare 145 degrees F; Well Done 160 degrees F.
Marla
Never made this cut before, but it won’t be the last time…delicious!!!
Sharon Sanders
This was the best pork roast I have ever had, and the first one I ever cooked. I couldn’t believe how well it reheated in a covered skillet on very low heat, following your instructions. It was just as tender and juicy on the 3rd night as it was on the first! Only thing I added was fresh minced rosemary. Bought a small 4.4 lb, 8-rib, Rack of Pork at Costco for $13 on April 3. Can’t wait until they have them again for the next holiday. So glad I found your website and thank you for a fabulous recipe.
Chef Dennis Littley
thank you for the wonderful comment and great review Sharon! I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed the roast and hope you find many more recipes to try on website.
Dawn Fulton
Made this tonight for the first time. Used a 3.89# rack of pork. Cooked, per directions for 1.25 hours, including the first 15 at 450°. Took out of the oven at 145°, tented it with foil for 20 minutes. It was so tender and so juicy. Can’t wait to make again. My only critique is that I used store bought Montreal seasoning. I don’t recommend it. Way way too salty. Salt content was pretty much ok once we took off the crust. Otherwise perfection.
Gretchen Harvey
what are the reheating instructions? I did not see them, but the roast was wondeful
Chef Dennis Littley
I cut the remainder of the roast into sections and reheat them in a saute pan with the au jus from the roast. Reheat the meat to an internal temperature of 165 and it’s ready.
Gwendolyn Geddes
Finished up a pork lion roast tonight …. it was stunning! My taste buds landed on mars. Seriously, I like simple….so I rubbed the lion roast with good quality olive oil and locally grown garlic and rosemary and a hint of locally grown herb salt and some pepper. Oven baked in a cast iron fry pan per your suggested temps….on a bed of onions, garlic, carrots and celery and added a good cup of white wine. It was delicious. Served with fresh okra of the season, cooked in homemade coconut milk, curry powder, allspice and a few other goodies. Brown rice cooked in fresh turmeric was the carbo of choice. Exquisite Meal. We enjoyed it so much. Thanks for posting it. Bonne appetite~
janelynn
Everything tastes better served with wine.
Connie
Made this last night. Fabulous and so easy. It took about 22 minutes a pound in my gas oven (6 lb. roast), but I’ll take that into consideration next time. I’ll be making this again soon.
Jason
I have made this recipe multiple times, and it is by far the best money to satisfaction ratio of anything I cook! Today, though, I am going to try to either do the first 15 minutes in the oven, or sear on the weber, and finish up on an Akorn Kamado. If it doesn’t turn out right, it won’t be the fault of the recipe/chef, but hopefully I can manage to make an already wonderful recipe and turn it into an outdoor activity for the summer while adding a little smokiness to it!
Bridget
I made this! I primarily followed your cooking instructions because I stayed with my mom’s basic rub. Thank you !! my roast -because of following your directions , came out absolutely perfect !!!
Helene
Wow! I think i cooked the most tender pork rib roast of my life tonight. Cooked it exactly as written except added rosemary and garlic along with Montreal seasoning, and cooked to 151 degrees before removing and it did go to 160 as mentioned. Excellent recipe, you me bonus points tonite! Thanks!
Michael
New tradition in our house, love this recipe!
Mitch Mevorah
Chef Dennis, I made the pork rack recipe and it came out deliscious . I used a Hatfield premium reserve pork rack to start ( about 6 lbs ) and followed it with some red wine as the base in the pan . I added the gravy on top at the end and omg , so juicy, moist and tender ! And the next day , the leftovers were incredible to boot ! Thanks so much !
Mitch
Chewy
Truned out beautifully with olive oil, cracked peppercorn and salt seasoning with a cup of wine in the roasting pan. Juicy and delicious.
Dianne
Best recipes! This pork roast was delicious!
Sheila Keefe-Sampson
I followed the directions with a boneless pork loin rib roast with a generous fat cap and it turned out delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe and tips. The pork was moist and tender. I’ll definitely mske this again!
Victoria
OMG!!! I put the mustard rub on the night before roasting – as a marinade – and this pork roast turned out so incredibly tender, moist and melt-in-your mouth savory. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe; even used the Montreal steak seasoning; so, the gravy was perfectly matched for the meat (and I am not a big meat and gravy fan, but this made me one). This was my first time preparing a rack of pork – will not be my last!
Rob Pompou
Not even close to being cooked via the instructions. After an extra half hour and I still had to cut it in sections and cook at 350 for 15 more minutes.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m sorry to hear you ran into a problem with the cooking time. What was the weight of your pork roast?
Donna
Made this recipe twice and my family loved it! I added, thyme and rosemary 1 teaspoon each. I had a 7pound 10 rib roast and followed your cooking time and temp instructions. I cook my roast 2 hours and took out at 160 degrees. Let the roast rest 20 mins. Perfect!!!
James Mann
Meat Probe Works Everytime and No Guessing. Just Know Your Temperature.
Chris
I cooked mine at 325 degrees for 20 minutes a pound and it was exceptional. It made a delicious gravy but, what can I do with the bones. I don’t want to throw them out.
Maria Croft
It’s probably too late, but I always let pork bones simmer in tomato sauce. Any loose pieces of meat help to flavor the sauce!
Chef Dennis Littley
you can still add the leftovers to a tomato sauce, along with some of the drippings
Trish
I’m wondering if time and temperatures would be different if using convection roast setting?
Chef Dennis Littley
generally with convection, you can reduce the time by one-third. The temperature would remain the same.
I would use a meat thermometer to be sure, the roast gets the desired doneness. Well-done is 165 degrees, internal temp.
Adrian
Delicious!!! One suggestion: when making the gravy, remove as much dripped off fat as possible with a spoon. Then place those veggies and the pan juices in a blender and let blend until creamy and smooth. Makes a thick delicious gravy.
Barbie
When you put the ingredients in the blender to make the gravy, was this just after taking the roast out while it was resting….or did you add the 2 c of water and reduce on the stove first (as suggested in the recipe, to make pan gravy)? I like the idea of just putting the drippings and vegetables in the blender but wasn’t sure if that could be a direct step.
Brittney Zechman
This completely impressed my mother in law, who worked in a fine dining restaurant for years…. And she just couldn’t stop raving about the pork! I followed the directions exactly, the cooking time and crust of seasoning was so perfect! Thank you Chef Dennis! Making it again this weekend for her & her husbands 40th anniversary!
Evelyn
I love this recipe. It cooks just as described and the onion carrot snd celery taste good cooked this way.
Leah Lust
This is excellent! We made it very close to the recipe – only changed the Montreal seasoning a bit because I had to improvise on the ingredients a little. My husband and family loved it. Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you for the comment and great review! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the Pork Roast
Kim
Oh my goodness, this was sooooo good!! Sent the hus and to the store for a boneless pork loin a few weeks back and he brought home a pork roast with the bones in! I kept this one and sent him back for the boneless loin for a different recipe then.
I had this meat in the freezer and found this recipe! I wish I found it sooner! It is so good! I will definitely make this again!
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you for the comment and great review! I do love this roast, and I’m very happy that you have found this delicious recipe
MT
I made this roast starting with my vertical smoker with hickory wood. I finished it in the oven to get a nice crisp to the fat. I served with garlic mashed potatoes a mustard mushroom gravy and sliced Brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic reduction. Everyone loved it.