“Dear Santa, All I want this year is Holly’s husband’s roast pork”- Fondly, Liz George
“Dear Liz, Here is the recipe for the roast pork. I believe his pork belongs to Holly, we don’t want you on the naughty list this year.” -Ho-Ho-Ho, Santa
Cheap, easy and delicious (the pork — not my husband) this recipe has been a family favorite for years. It is the type of meat that will bring your neighbors knocking on your door at 12 a.m. saying he saw a light on and just wanted to “Stop by and say ‘Hi”. (Yes, Mike I am talking about you). It is that good.
The Recipe:
- One 8lb. pork shoulder available at any grocery store – this is not a special order cut of meat (it can be bigger or smaller and the cooking time remains the same)
- 4 cups of kosher salt
- 2 cups of sugar
- 4 quarts of water
- A bay leaf and thyme (optional)
Serves about 6-8
The day before: Mix up your brine by combining salt, sugar and water in a large stock pot over medium low heat until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add a bay leaf and thyme for an extra bit of flavor. When brine has cooled, put your pork shoulder into pot with the brine and cover. Let it sit at room temperature or refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. After your pork has brined — rinse, pat dry, and put on a on roasting pan fat side up in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 hours, then drop the temperature to 300 degrees for one more hour or until it has an internal temperature of 160 degrees. When the pork is done cooking let it sit in the pan for about 15 more minutes ( stand guard by your pork as guests will wander by with plucky fingers trying to distract you as they grab a piece and run).
Here is my brother’s “This Ain’t No Dippin’ Sauce it’s all ’bout the Soppin’ Pork Sauce” recipe:
- One head of garlic peeled and minced
- One bunch of chopped fresh oregano
- The juice and zest of two limes
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
Throw all ingredients together in a bowl and mix. I like to blend mine up but my brother prefers it un-blended. Pour over pork before serving.
We like to serve the pork on a platter in it’s own drippings combined with the Lime-Garlic Sauce that has dripped to the bottom.
So tell us Baristaville what are you planning to serve this Christmas? Turduckin? Roast Capon? Woodcock? Chuck-squir-munk?
Dear Santa,
I want to be able to live in Holly’s kitchen.
Wow. Five hours at 350 and another hour at 300? The long roast doesn’t surprise me (restaurants will do a controlled warm oven slow roast for big cuts overnight) but the oven temperature does.
WOW! sounds a lot easier than the ‘pernil’ my hubby’s family makes. I think it is a picnic roast (whatever THAT is) and it involves a lot of gouging and stuffing of garlic. Then there’s some secret trick to getting the skin crispy which they all fight over. As a non-red-meatasaurus, it’s a little repulsive to me. But I might even be able to handle this one!
question is, why is it OK to leave the meat out on the counter for hours?? Is it because of the salt?
Man does that look good.
I use this roasting box when I roast a pig. It’s so easy a white guy from the ‘burbs can do it.
http://www.lacajachina.com/
Last time I roasted one it was an 85 lb pig. Never again after ‘a professional’ told me, use a much smaller pig for the look but also throw in a shoulder (or 2) depending on the crowd and use that, it’s easier.
OH Herb. Last time the in-laws got a roast pig, they picked it up from someplace in North Bergen and laid it out in the kitchen. Needless to say I stayed far, far away. Seeing that poor thing’s face was enough to ruin my Christmas dinner!
Kay a Picnic roast is the shoulder. It is the fattest tought part of the pig. Personally, I ask that my husband put the brining pork into the fridge or a cool place. Purists like to leave it out at room temp but I like the whimpy approach of “better safe then getting sick”.
Yes, the temp does seem high but what can I say? It works.
Herb, I have tasted the La Caja China Pork and it was amazing!
easiest thing in the world to cook. salt pepper garlic. no need to brine. an oven at a low temperature is all you need. it’s a pork fat thing. actually it’s the slow melting of connective tissue.
thanks for sending the price up of one of the cheapest cuts of meat.
run to the a&p montclair housewives.
stick to the drinks Holly.
merry christmas
Is there a vegetarian version of this?
Dear Angry Crochety Fisherman Guy:
Shush.
Dear Holly: please continue without interruption the drinks pieces, the food pieces and everything else you contribute.
And the dish looks delicious. However, to Mr.Fisherman’s point, I suggest NOT using the $1000/oz salt, gold-laced sugar and fancy schmancy rare imported waters for which your recipe impliedly calls. These do indeed shoot the price for this dish through the roof. Regular kosher salt, sugar and good ol’ Hackensack River water should suffice.
Herb,
Please wheel the Caja over to my house for a test run. I have wanted one for quite some time.
Thank you.
hey hipflask. don’t shush me.
take another swig. i know what i am talking about.
hey hipflask…eat me.
you try to be ironic but you are not.
Fishy you sound like a fun guy. Though you clearly know what you’re talking about (after all you said so)…may I suggest to others out there that some types of meat do not lend themselves to brining. This cut not only lends itself…it begs you to brine it. I have done shoulder roasts in a traditional way and I have tried this recipe…this recipe is WAY better. But what do I know…don’t have the economy of wit to come up with a zinger like ‘eat me’.
snowbarris you are so clever and you know so much about food, cooking and pork. i am humbled. you know so much about food and cooking; have you been working in a kitchen for twenty years? like me. i think you could teach me so much. are you a fan of sandra lee? racheal ray? i wasted my time with cooking school. salt water. that’s the secret. too bad the world’s best chefs don’t know this secret.