Roast Pork Shoulder with Roast Vegetable Sauce
Pork shoulders (also called butts or Boston butts) are terrific roasts, in my opinion, more delicious than pork loin and definitely less expensive. With a nice layer of fat on top, a good proportion of fat through the muscle, and lots of connective tissue, the roasted meat has wonderful flavor and soft, moist texture. It’s easy to roast—you don’t need to erect a foil tent for it—and the shoulder-blade bone, which adds flavor and speeds roasting, is simple to remove when you’re serving the meat. (It is also easy to braise, as you will find in the following recipe for Salsa Genovese). Shoulder roasts range from 4 to 8 pounds, bone-in, or larger. This procedure will work for any-size roast, though the vegetable and seasoning amounts are for a 5-to-7-pound shoulder, the size you’ll usually find in the butcher’s case. To feed a big crowd, ask the butcher to cut a larger shoulder for you, or cook two smaller roasts in one very big roasting pan. Be sure to increase the vegetables, seasonings, and cooking liquids proportionally with your meat. Some of the other choices you have with this easy roast: should you mash all the roasting-pan vegetables into the sauce—the simplest method—or cut and caramelize them to serve as a side dish? Or a bit of each? (See page 344 for more information.) It’s up to you. Do you want to glaze the roast? I’ve got a good maple syrup glaze to share—see recipe that follows.
*Cut into small pieces, as listed, if you are mashing them for sauce; larger pieces, cut as described on page 344, to serve as an accompaniment
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6 or more
Ingredients
For the Pan and Sauce: Vegetables,* Seasonings, and Broth
Recommended Equipment
Preparation
Prepping the Roast and Vegetables
Step 1
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 400°.
Step 2
Rinse and dry the roast; leave the entire layer of fat on the top. Place it in the roasting pan, and sprinkle salt on all sides, patting the crystals so they stick to the meat and are evenly distributed. Pour on the olive oil, and rub it all over the roast. Set the roast, fat side up, in the center of the pan.
Step 3
Scatter all the chopped vegetables and seasonings—except the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt—around, and toss everything together with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. If you are using water as cooking liquid, toss the 1 teaspoon salt with the vegetables; if using broth, less or no salt is needed, depending on the saltiness of the broth (taste to determine). Pour the white wine and 2 cups or more broth (or water) into the side of the pan so the cooking liquid is 1 inch deep, coming well up around all the vegetables.
Slow Roasting the Pork and Vegetables
Step 4
Set the pan in the oven and roast for an hour, then open the oven and bring the roasting pan up front, turn the vegetables over, and rotate the pan back to front, for even cooking.
Step 5
Roast for another hour or hour and a quarter (depending on the size of the roast); the internal temperature should be 170 degrees or a little higher. The meat should be browned all over with dark edges; the top (especially the fat) should be crisp and caramelized. There will still be a considerable amount of juices in the pan, and the vegetables should be cooked through and lightly browned. The dish is ready to serve now, unless you want to glaze the roast or get it darker and more crisp, in which case raise the oven temperature to 425° and proceed as directed later.
Making the Sauce and Finishing the Roast
Step 6
Lift the pork out of the roasting pan with a large spatula, or by holding it with towels, and rest it on a platter while you start the sauce. If it’s not going back in the oven, set the roast on a warm corner of the stove, covered loosely with foil.
Step 7
With a potato masher, crush the cooked vegetables in the juices, breaking them up into little bits. Set the sieve in the saucepan, and pour everything from the pan into the sieve, including any flavorful caramelized bits that can be scraped up. Press the vegetables and other solids against the sieve with a big spoon to release their liquid, then discard them. Let the liquid settle, and when the fat rises, skim it off. Set the saucepan over high heat, bring the juices (you should have 3 to 4 cups) to a boil, and let them reduce, uncovered.
Step 8
For further browning, return the roast to the roasting pan, including its juices. When the oven is at 425°, set the pan on a higher rack and roast until browned and crusty. This could take just a few minutes or 15 or more; check the meat frequently, and turn pan if browning unevenly.
Step 9
When the roast is out of the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes or so before serving. I like to remove the blade bone, which is visible on the side of the roast. Insert a long knife blade into the meat so it rests on the flat bone; draw the blade along the bone, following its contours, and the meat will lift off. Arrange the boneless pork on a warm serving platter.
Step 10
To finish the sauce, cook until the strained roasting juices have reduced by half, or to a consistency you like. Thicken it, if you wish, with bread crumbs (see box, page 335). Moisten the roast with some of the sauce and pass the rest.
Serving Ideas . . .
Step 11
This pork roast is delicious with the usual mashed potatoes, but it is equally good with the Potato, Parsnip, and Scallion Mash (page 361), as well as with any of the skillet vegetables beginning on page 266.
Step 12
Or, as I like it, serve simply with its own roasted vegetables.
A Vermont Finish for Roast Pork: Maple Syrup Glaze
Step 13
When I was testing this roast pork recipe at the Vermont home of my editor, Judith Jones, her cousin dropped by with jugs of the maple syrup he produces on his nearby farm. With the pan sauce on the stove and the pork ready for its last blast of heat, a taste of the syrup inspired this glaze. Though the roast will be wonderful without it, a coating of maple syrup (mixed with mustard to balance the sweetness) gives it a dark-golden veneer and a tantalizing layer of flavor too. (Crusty pieces will be in high demand when people taste the meat.)
Step 14
For a regular-size roast, whisk together 2 tablespoons maple syrup—preferably the strong, dark cooking grade of syrup—with 2 tablespoons Dijon or other sharp mustard. After you’ve started the sauce and the pork is back in the empty roasting pan, brush it all over with the glaze—a thin coat is fine. (If you have a big roast and run out of glaze, just mix up more.) Roast, as instructed, for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the roast is dark and caramelized.
