Crown Rack of Ribs served with potatoes and beer cheese.

Are you looking to snazzy up your rib game? Maybe get a little royal with it? We got you covered! A Crown Rack of Ribs combines elegance and decadence, class and flavor. We saw this delicious looking meal cooked by John Shepard and had to give it a go. So, we paired this perfectly cooked rack of ribs with roasted potatoes and beer cheese; now we’re really cooking!

Will It Crown

The raw rack of ribs with the materials to turn it into a crown.

Crowning. What in the world is this craziness? And does it make the food taste better? To answer that, it’s a yes and no. But let’s jump into what it is first. 

Bone in racks of meat are what we need for a crown. Pork ribs, beef ribs, bone in pork loin, or even a Prime Rib roast if you’re super ambitious.

The crown rack of ribs still raw but now seasoned.

The process is to circle them up and truss them to make a sort of crown. Now, if the loin is still attached some relief cuts may be necessary. But with our Crown Rack of Ribs, it’s very straight forward. 

Will this effect flavor? Yes, or maybe no. Depends on how you define flavor. I am of the opinion that we eat with all 5 of our senses.

The ribs and potatoes assembled and plated.

A dish has to look good to taste good. I guarantee you if you put a steak in a blender it’s gonna taste as horrible as it looks. To those ends, crowning is about presentation. It’s a major wow factor. How do I know? My wife said “Wow” when she saw this dish. 

For other crown recipes, check out Garlic Herb Lamb Crown, Smoked Pork Crown Roast or Smoked Lamb Crown

Crown Rack of Ribs – Fill ‘er Up

We’ve made this impressive crown of ribs, it looks super cool, do we stop there? Of course not! What, are you new here?!? We fill it up! This is a meat and potatoes dish, so let’s get to those potatoes. 

The ingredients for the potatoes.

Normally I’m a Russet guy through and through because they’re a great all-around potato. But not today. We’re going with the tiny guys. Sometimes called new potatoes or creamer potatoes. As long as they’re small and good for roasting, that’s what we want. 

The seasoned potatoes on the grill cooking.

We cook them in beef tallow (or lard if that’s what you have around) and heavy salt and pepper. It may seem like overkill on the seasoning. But remember, we can only season the outside of the potatoes. There’s a lot of potato on the inside we can’t season, so go heavy and your taste buds will thank you. 

Crown Rack of Ribs – Top ‘er Off

Did you think we were done again? Nah, another one. This Crown Rack of Ribs needs toppings! All the toppings. Sliced green onions, crispy fried onions, and, of course, beer cheese. 

The beer cheese ingredients.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Beer cheese is the superior cheese. I judge bars on their ability to present a good beer cheese. Any bar can pour a beer. But not every bar has the dedication and the tenacity to make a quality beer cheese. We are so close y’all, this is where it all comes together.

We all love beer cheese, here are some additional beer cheese recipes: Smoked Venison Burgers with Beer Cheese, BBQ Steak Sandwich and Smoked Chorizo Queso.

The melty beer cheese.

Use quality beer, use quality cheese, use quality everything. There’s not much that goes into beer cheese so you can’t hide behind complex flavors. It either hits or it don’t. Make it hit y’all, make it hit. 

The sliced crown rack of ribs.

For more delicious recipes, check out my second cookbook Flavor X Fire or my first cookbook Food X Fire!

Needing more spice in your life? My spice line can help with that. Check them out here.

The ribs and potatoes assembled and plated.

Crown Rack of Ribs

Crown Rack of Ribs are pork ribs, seasoned, smoked, stuffed with potatoes and topped with beer cheese!
Author:Jeremy Whitelaw
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Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 People

Ingredients 

  • Rack of St Louis style pork ribs
  • Honey Mustard IPA Rub
  • 2 lbs new potatoes
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp pepper
  • 4 tbsp beef tallow
  • Scallions
  • Fried Onions

Beer Cheese

  • ¼ cup AP Flour
  • ¼ cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1 Cup Whole Milk
  • 1 Cup Guinness Beer
  • Honey Mustard IPA Rub
  • 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions 

Ribs:

  • Pre hear smoker to 275 Degrees.
  • Prep ribs by removing the membrane on the back of the ribs. Arrange ribs in a crown shape and truss with butchers twine. Season generously with OTFC Honey Mustard IPA Rub.
  • Place ribs on the smoker, indirect heat, with a water pan. These ribs aren’t going to be wrapped, so the water pan will keep them from getting dried out.
  • Smoke for 3-4 hours, until probe tender. Remove from heat and let rest.

Potatoes:

  • While ribs are cooking. Place Potatoes, tallow, salt, and pepper in a cast iron pan. Roast potatoes on the smoker until tender. This should take about 1.5 hours. It’s easy to test tenderness with a toothpick.

Beer Cheese:

  • After ribs are off the smoker heat a 10” cast iron skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in pan and whisk in the flour. Cook the roux until a medium brown color is achieved, 3-5 min.
  • Lower heat and slowly whisk in the milk and beer. Cook until the mixture slightly thickens and is smooth, whisking occasionally. Another 3-5 min.
  • Remove pan from the heat and slowly add in the cheese, stirring continuously. If the pan is too hot or the cheese is added too fast, the sauce may break.
  • Sauce can be kept warm over very low heat, stirring occasionally.

Assembly:

  • Place Rib crown on a serving platter. Fill center with roasted potatoes and cover with beer cheese. Top with sliced scallions and crispy fried onions.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 720kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 3897mg | Potassium: 1142mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1040IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 522mg | Iron: 3mg

Jeremy Whitelaw

Jeremy is a small business owner by day; a private chef to a wife and two kiddos by night and creator behind The Kitchen Whitelaw. Specializing in new American cooking, diner fare, country club cuisine, the classics you know and love. Exploring new recipes, creating new dishes, and teaching new techniques.

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  1. Brilliant recipe – I am going to cook this in celebration of the coronation on 6th May 2023