This pork roast works equally great as an entree right after roasting or the next day cold on sandwiches. It is very flavorful, super tender and unbelievably juicy.
As a rule, pork shoulder has lots of intramuscular fat (and this is what makes it juicy), but it also contains big knots or strips of connective tissue, which needs to be taken care of or the meat will be too tough to eat. The secret of roasting shoulder is cooking it for a long time at medium low temperature until the connective tissue has broken down and the fat has melted, making the meat succulent and tender.
You will need:
- About 4 lb piece of pork shoulder (look for a piece with lots of intramuscular fat a.k.a. “marbling”)
- 2 medium garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
- 1 heaping tsp salt
- ¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ground sage
- ¼ tsp ground fenugreek
- ¼ tsp khmeli-suneli spice blend (optional)
- 1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil (canola, grape seed, mild flavored olive oil or peanut)
Preheat the oven to 425F. With a thin sharp paring knife, make numerous incisions in the meat, about 1 inch deep, and stuff them with the garlic slivers. If the pork piece has a thick layer of fat on top, score it criss-cross without cutting through the meat. Alternatively, especially if you’re conscious about your waistline, you can trim the fat completely off.
Mix all the spices and salt together. Rub the meat with a tablespoon of oil and then with the spice mixture. Tie the meat compactly with a string (I use silicone loops my mother-in-law gave me).
Line a baking sheet/pan with foil and grease with the rest of oil. Put the pork on the foil fatty side up and place into the oven. After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 290-300F and roast the meat about 2.5-3.5 hours or until the internal temperature in the center of the meat reads around 190 F. Yes, that high! As a rule, pork roast is considered done when its internal temperature reaches at least 140F. However, for this cut the higher inner temperature is a must because this is what breaks the connective tissue and melts the fat.
Take the meat out and let rest at least 5-7 minutes before slicing. Serve hot with gravy that you can make using the melted fat and whatever is left in the baking pan or with some other sauce to your liking.
Wrap the leftovers in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. We love cold pork shoulder roast thinly sliced with mustard and horseradish or in hot sandwiches with some spicy sauce, pickles and well-melting cheese.
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