My ideal Sunday afternoon involves popping something into the oven that will magically transform into dinner. This pork roast recipe makes all my dreams come true.
It all starts with a great pork shoulder cut, this one raised on a nearby farm and pulled out of my freezer three days in advance to defrost in the refrigerator.
All I do is pull out my Dutch oven, salt the roast, pour over the citrus marinade and put it in the oven. No browning in advance, it slowly roasts while I tend to everything else besides cooking…
Of course, you can make this in an Instant Pot even quicker. I’ve included instructions for the oven or Instant Pot in the recipe.
Either way, by browning the meat at the end of cooking, instead of at the beginning, you concentrate the meat juices and intensify the meaty flavors of the roast.
In your oven or Instant Pot, this pork roast sets up your week for success.
{It’s a time-saving and winning method I call backward braising that I developed for Fine Cooking. Sadly, the magazine’s recipes are no longer online, but two fans cooked pork roasts and you can learn more here and here.}
Oven, Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Roast Pork?
My go-to for braising meat is my trusted Le Creuset pot and the oven. Some people swear by their slow cookers. But even a late adopter like me cannot ignore the benefits of the Instant Pot.
To make this pork roast recipe in my Instant Pot, I followed the guidelines in this cheat sheet from Instant Pot Life calling for 15 minutes per pound at high pressure.
{You can download a full set of handy Instant Pot cheat sheets here.}
That means, the pork cooks for 60 minutes and high pressure and then needs about 30 minutes for the pressure to release. Still, it cuts the total cooking time in half.
Cook Once, Eat Twice
The bonus of this recipe is that it sets me up for success. So long as we do not devour every last morsel, this pork roast is the foundation for other meals for the week.
Think sheet pan nachos or tacos {with or without homemade tortillas and fresh salsa}. Beans and rice. Even pork gyros {yes, the are a thing}. Even the smallest quantity of leftovers are the foundation for a weeknight stew with chicken broth, beans, hominy or rice.
None of this pork roast goes to waste. I reserve the bone and trim for a black bean soup that gets an instant flavor boost from all the time this cut of meat spent roasting in the oven.
For Sunday supper, I love to serve this with roasted potatoes, spaetzle or braised cabbage.
The pork roast does all the heavy lifting. And I feel like I’ve hardly lifted a finger.
How will you serve your pork roast? Let me know in the comments below or tag a photo #lynnesforage on Instagram or Facebook.
Mojo-style Roast Pork
Ingredients
- 1 3 1/2 to 4-pound bone-in pork shoulder roast pasture raised
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Instructions
Oven method:
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Season the pork all over with salt in a oven-safe pot with a tight-fitting lid and scatter garlic cloves around it. Combine the orange and lime juice with the cumin and oregano in a measuring cup and stir to blend. Pour the juices over the roast and put on the lid.
- Cook the roast,, turning it with tongs a few times, until the muscles separate from the bone and you can pierce the meat easily with a fork, about 3 hours.
- Raise the heat to 325 degrees and remove the lid. Roast the pork for until it browns on top, then flip and roast until it nearly falls off the bone and you can shred the meat easily with a fork about 40 minutes more.
- Divide the meat along the natural seams, trimming the fat and bone and reserving them for future use (such as a soup). Slice or shred the meat into serving pieces to serve with all of the cooking juices.
Instant Pot Method
- Season the pork all over with salt and place in the Instant Pot insert. Scatter garlic cloves around it and add the orange juice, lime juice, cumin and oregano. Secure the lid and set the cook time for 60 minutes at high pressure.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally, about 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, divide the meat along the natural seams, trimming the fat and bone and reserving them for future use (such as a soup). Slice or shred as desired for serving or other use.
- You can serve this meat with the cooking juices as is. Or, for additional flavors, arrange the serving pieces with all the cooking juices and broil, , turning once, until browned and the juices are concentrated, about 15 minutes.
The post A Sunday Pork Roast, Mojo-style for an Easy Win appeared first on Lynne Curry.