The first time I decided to make pork shoulder it wasn’t met with great anticipation by my dear husband. “Shoulder? How do you cook it?” I explained it is roasted in a 300°F oven for about 4 to 4 1/2 hours. “Spice rub? he continued. I told him no, just salt and pepper and refrigerate overnight. “Marinade or a sauce?” he continued. No, I said, I’ve read it is good just as it is. I was going to serve this as simply as the directions conveyed. I think he was planning on some back-up meat, just in case but the wonderful aromas and succulent meat made a believer out of him. I used the recipe from Fine Cooking magazine and it called for a boneless pork shoulder but I could only find bone-in which in this case is the shoulder-blade. Roasts always seem to benefit from cooking on the bone.
Later shopping trips to make the recipe again revealed that a boneless roast is more than double the price so I have always stuck with the bone-in roast and just added a little cooking time (very little). Pork shoulder is also known as Boston Butt, which is a misnomer, it is not from the butt end of the animal but the upper shoulder of the hog. It consists of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm and contains quite a bit of connective tissue. According to the National Pork Board the name came from pre-Revolutionary war days when people wanted to live “high off the hog”, the less desirable cuts, such as the shoulder were packed for transport in casks or barrels known as “butts” This cut became a favorite with Boston chefs, hence the name. I use the largest shoulder I can find, which in this case was about 9 pounds. The recipe calls for 1 medium onion and 3 medium carrots and every time I make the recipe I increase the vegetables. This time I used a 1 pound bag of carrots and 4 onions and I still could have used more. Other vegetables such as potatoes, fennel and squash could be added as well. I make scalloped potatoes, garlicky white beans and sautéed broccoli rabe to accompany this dish.
Recipe from Fine Cooking #97
Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Carrots, Onion and Garlic
Serves 8 with leftovers
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 8-9 lb pork shoulder roast, also known as Boston Butt
- 4-5 medium sweet onions, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch rings
- 1 lb medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 x 1/2 inch sticks
- 10 or more cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 cup of dry white wine
- Combine 11/2 Tbs salt and 2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Rub the mixture all over the pork. Put the pork, fat side up in a large roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
- Let the pork sit at room temperature for an 1 1/2 before cooking.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (I use a convection oven). Uncover the pork and roast until tender, about 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, wine and a cup or so of water to the roasting pan and continue to roast, stirring occasionally, until the pork is completely tender, about 1 hour more.
- Remove the roast from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 375F. Separate the meat into about 8 to 10 chunks using tongs. Spread the meat out in the pan. Add a little more water if necessary. Return meat to oven and roast so that the newly exposed surfaces are browned, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and transfer meat and vegetables to a large serving platter. Tent loosely with foil and rest for 20 minutes. Skim excess fat from the juices and serve the juices with the vegetables and meat.