Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Prepare the stuffing:
3. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until toasted. Cool bread.
4. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter and cook onion and celery over medium heat until softened (approximately 4 to 5 minutes), stirring occasionally. Stir in apples, dried apricots, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg and cinnamon. Reduce heat to low and add the chicken broth. Cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, approximately 15 minutes. Stir in the toasted bread cubes.

Prepare the roast:

1. In the preheated oven, place your oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, black pepper, dried sage and rosemary and rub this mixture on the outside and inside of the pork.
3. Holding the pork in place, encircle the roast(s) with twine to create a circle (if you have two roasts that you need to put together to form the crown, use a meat needle and tie both ends of roast together, ensuring you sew the top and bottom of each end). For additional instruction on how to prepare the crown roast, refer to this infographic.
4. Wrap your oven rack in foil so the stuffing will not push through the bottom, place the prepared pork roast, bone ends up, on the rack in a shallow roasting pan.
5. Fill the center of the crown with previously cooked stuffing, mounding it slightly. Place any leftover stuffing in a separate baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes until the stuffing is crispy on top.
6. Wrap the tips of the rib bones with foil to prevent burning.
7. Roast pork, covering stuffing loosely with foil after 30 minutes. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 F when inserted 2 inches into center of meat – taking care to not touch any bones, (total cooking time for roast will be about 2-1/2 to 3 hours).
8. When pork is done, place it on a Cutting Board, cover with a tent of foil and let it stand 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature will rise approximately 5 F and tenting allows for the juices to set up, allowing for easier carving.)
9. Remove foil. Spoon stuffing into a separate bowl and slice between the ribs to serve.
10. Two chops per person is a standard serving, along with a generous portion of stuffing.