Roast Pork

Pork is always a delicious alternative to your usual dinner routine, especially when it’s made this deliciously! When I feel like making a more elegant dinner for parties and such, I usually turn to my favorite Garlic Pork Loin recipe. Every other time, this simple Roast Pork is my go-to!

The seasoning mix I use to make this pork is a combination of garlic cloves, coarse salt, fresh cracked peppercorns, ground mustard, onion powder, and fresh minced rosemary. While all of these ingredients add an incredible flavor, it’s the garlic halves inserted directly into the meat that really infuse it with so much more flavor.

It’s my little not so secret ingredient to always having the best Roast Pork!

I really love making this pork shoulder in the oven because it’s as simple as seasoning and slow roasting it for a few hours. You can even salt it the night before, which I prefer, then season and pop it in the oven in the morning. That way you’ll have dinner ready by the evening time with no stress at all!

Oh, and the intoxicating aroma that fills your kitchen while the meat cooks is pretty drool-worthy. Trust me, your family will be lining up at dinner time just from that smell alone.

Key Ingredients

• Pork Butt – For this recipe, you’ll need a bone-in Boston pork butt. Of all the cuts of pork, this one yields the most tender and juicy meat.
• Salt – You’ll need coarse salt both to season the pork overnight and before it cooks. Make sure you’re using actual coarse salt, not table salt!
• Garlic – you will need fresh garlic cloves for this meat recipe.
• Peppercorns – Freshly cracked peppercorns help to create the best flavor.
• Ground Mustard – Most pork recipes call for some form of mustard, and that’s because the natural flavor of the pork pairs so perfectly with the sharp, tangy flavor of mustard.
• Rosemary – it’s best to use fresh rosemary here.

How to Make Roast Pork

Start by seasoning the pork really well with coarse salt and giving it time to sit wrapped tight in the refrigerator overnight. This helps the flavors infuse and makes a big difference in how juicy the meat turns out.

Before cooking, pierce the pork generously all over with a sharp knife and place sliced garlic cloved inside. Then coat the pork with seasoning all over and remember not to rub but pat the seasoning on.

As the pork goes into the oven (at 450°F), the initial high heat helps set the outside. Before long, you’ll notice the smell of garlic and rosemary filling the kitchen, that’s your first sign things are going right. After lowering the temperature to 275°F, the pork slowly cooks for several hours, during which the fat melts and naturally bastes the meat. This is where the magic happens.

You don’t need to fuss with it while it cooks. Just let it roast until the meat becomes deeply tender. When it’s ready, a fork should slide in easily, the meat should pull apart without effort, and the bone should release cleanly from the pork. If it still feels firm, it simply needs more time. (Internal temperature should read 202°F to 203°F for pulled pork.)

Once out of the oven, give the roast time to rest before pulling. This helps juices to spread back through the meat for the juicy and tender results. What you’re left with is flavorful, fall-apart pork that’s perfect for serving as-is or using in pulled pork sandwiches, pulled pork tacos, or pulled pork nachos.

Tips for the Best Tender Roast Pork Shoulder

• Season it the night before, cover and refrigerate. It will give more time for the seasoning to flavor the meat and take no time to pop it in the oven in the morning.
• If the pork is cold, let it sit on the counter for about 30 minute before placing in the oven. You never want to cook cold meat!
• Use a leave-in meat thermometer to track the temperature! This is your most accurate way to make sure your meat is cooked perfectly.
• When inserting the thermometer probe, get it close to the bone but NOT touching the bone.
• Slow, slow, slow! Don’t be tempted to raise the temperature to try and cook the meat faster. This is a tough meat and it needs time to cook at a lower temperature to give you the best tasting results.
• Cook the pork shoulder fat-cap up! Melting fat will slowly seep into the meat and produce much more tender and juicy results.
• Expect your 4-5lb pork shoulder to take about 5-8 hours to cook. Remember that each cut of meat is different, so each will take slightly different amount to cook. Track the temperature, not the time!
• For a nice and tender pull-apart pork, you’ll want to cook it to 200­°F-203°F internal temperature.
• Note that if you want to cook a boneless pork shoulder and slice it rather than pull it, it’s totally fine, just pull it out of the oven when it reaches an internal temperature of 190°F-195°F.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Pork Recipes to Make

If you love this roast pork, there are plenty of other pork recipes on my site to try next. From juicy garlic pork loin and pork cutlets for any day, to a more elegant dinner like stuffed pork chops, stuffed pork loin, roasted pork tenderloin, and pot roasted pork loin. You can also switch up the flavor of this roast and use my homemade pork rub instead of the seasoning blend. No matter the cut, these pork recipes are designed to be approachable, flavorful, and perfect for everyday cooking.

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