Our rack of pork is the Pork Rack, 5 Rib: a bone in Heritage Duroc roast that the product page says you can cut into a tomahawk chop, serve as a roast, or slice between the bones into chops. The recipe below is the page’s own: rub it, roast at 325°F to 145°F in about 1.5 hours, rest 10 minutes, then carve it as a roast or into chops.
Order the 5 rib pork rack, or browse the heritage pork fresh cuts. Below are the recipe from the product page, what the cut is, how it compares with the loin roast and a rib rack, and how to carve it.
- The recipe, from the product page
- What a rack of pork is
- Rack of pork vs loin roast vs St. Louis rack
- Carving: roast or chops
- Questions people ask
Rack of pork recipe, from the product page
Ingredients, as the page lists them: the 5 rib pork rack, olive oil, salt, pepper, and your choice of spices such as paprika, garlic powder, and brown sugar. The page gives no amounts, so season to taste; the recipe card counts about 10 minutes for the rub (our estimate, stated as such), the page’s about 1.5 hours in the oven, and its 10 minute rest.
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Rub the rack with olive oil, salt, pepper, and your choice of spices such as paprika, garlic powder, and brown sugar.
- Place it in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 145°F, about 1.5 hours.
- Rest 10 minutes before cutting.
- Serve as a roast, or slice between the bones and serve as chops.
That is the page’s whole method, and we do not add to it: no sear step, no cover, no liquid, no reverse sear. The 145°F endpoint is USDA’s minimum for fresh pork, with a rest of at least 3 minutes; the page’s 10 minute rest covers it. USDA also says cooked pork can still be pink at 145°F and be safe, which matters on a thick bone in roast.
The spice list is the page’s suggestion, and amounts are yours; we give no salt weight the page does not give. For a broader look at oven, grill, and pan methods for heritage pork, our older post on cooking techniques for heritage breed pork is the place.
What the cut is
A rack of pork is a bone in roast from the loin with the rib bones left on, so the chops are still joined in one piece. USDA’s fresh pork page lists loin as one of the four primal cuts (shoulder, loin, side, and leg) and names the loin roast, tenderloin, and chops among its retail cuts; a rack is the loin roast with its bones.
Ours has 5 ribs. The product page gives no weight, so plan by the thermometer rather than a per pound rule; the page’s own estimate is about 1.5 hours at 325°F. The hogs are Heritage Duroc, raised crate free with no antibiotics ever on family farms, per our story page.
One note for the careful reader: the product page’s short description talks about a rack of ribs and fall off the bone texture, while its description and cooking instructions describe a roast that slices into chops. We follow the cooking instructions and the description here, and we have flagged the wording to the farm.
Rack of pork vs pork loin roast vs St. Louis rack
| Cut | Bone | What our page says | Method, from our page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork Rack, 5 Rib | Bone in, 5 rib bones | Tomahawk chop or roast; slice between bones for chops | 325°F, roasting pan, to 145°F, about 1.5 hours; rest 10 minutes |
| Pork loin roast | Roast from the same loin; the page does not say bone in or boneless | Lean meat with a subtle fat cap; slow roasting, grilling, braising | 375°F, 20 to 25 minutes per pound, to 145°F; rest 10 to 15 minutes |
| St. Louis style ribs | Rib bones from the spare ribs, not the loin | Cut from the spare ribs; slow cooking, grilling, roasting | 300°F, covered loosely, 2.5 to 3 hours until tender; rest 10 minutes |
The rack and the loin roast both come from the loin, so both cook to 145°F and rest; the rack takes longer at a lower oven. The rib rack is a different cut cooked a different way, to tender rather than to a temperature, and we sorted the rib cuts out in St. Louis ribs vs spare ribs. For the smaller loin cut, see pork tenderloin vs pork loin.
Carving: roast or chops
After the rest, the page gives two choices. Carve it at the table as a roast, cutting thick slices down between the bones, or slice all the way between each bone before serving so each person gets a bone in chop. The page’s serving option is one chop per rib, so a 5 rib rack gives up to five; how thick each one is depends on the bone spacing and the trim.
The page’s other option, the tomahawk chop, is cut before cooking: one rib with its long bone, cooked as a chop rather than a roast. The page gives a roast method only, so for a raw chop we cook to USDA’s 145°F with a thermometer and do not give minutes. Wine for either version is in pork chop wine pairing.
Questions people ask about a rack of pork
What’s the best way to cook a rack of pork?
For ours, the product page method: rub with oil, salt, pepper, and spices, roast at 325°F in a roasting pan to 145°F, about 1.5 hours, and rest 10 minutes.
How many ribs are in a rack?
Ours has 5. Racks from other sellers vary, so check the listing.
How long should I cook a pork rack?
Our page says about 1.5 hours at 325°F, but the endpoint is 145°F on a thermometer, not the clock. Start checking before the 1.5 hour mark.
What temperature should it be cooked at?
Oven at 325°F per our page; meat to 145°F, which is USDA’s minimum for fresh pork, then a rest.
One rack, two ways to serve it. A rack of pork roasts at 325°F to 145°F and then comes to the table whole or sliced between the bones into chops, and the product page carries the current price and availability.
Order the 5 rib pork rack, or see the rest of the heritage pork fresh cuts.