Slow-Pork Shoulder - Tyler Florence

I am going to have to preface this recipe with an explanation. See, Tyler's original recipe was titled Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Salsa Verde and Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes from Tyler Florence: Stirring the Pot. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yeah, it sounded good to me too. But the recipe called for a 4 pound boneless pork shoulder. I knew I had a pork shoulder in the freezer, so I defrosted it and was ready to go. Except, that my lovely pork shoulder was wrapped in white freezer paper, and when I unwrapped it, I realized it was not so lovely. It had a big, weirdly angled, bone in it and lots of gristly veins of fat, plus it was only about 2 1/2 pounds! Not the kind of pork roast to stand on it's own.

So, I moved on to Plan B. Except, I had already made the marinade. To make a long story short (I know, I know, too late), I marinated the roast in the original rub and roasted it. It was amazing!!! This is now my pork shoulder rub. Seriously this was the best flavored pork ever! I just couldn't serve it alone, so I ended up making a cilantro salsa and serving it as a taco with some Mexican rice and refried beans. It was still sooooo good.

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder

1 4-pound boneless Pork Shoulder (don't make my mistake)
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
4 tablespoons kosher salt (1 tablespoon for every pound of meat)
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the rub, toast the fennel seeds in a small saute pan over medium heat until fragrant. In a food processor combine the toasted fennel seeds, garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Pulse to combine. With the motor running, gradually pour the oil through the feed tube to form a paste. Rub the herb paste on the pork. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Place the pork, fat side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack insert. Preheat the oven to 325. Allow the meat to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Loosely cover pork with aluminum foil; roast about 3 hours, until juices fun clear (160 F). Let the meat stand for about 15 minutes before slicing.


This will be my entry for this week's Tyler Florence Fridays. Be sure and check out the weekly round-up on Friday, or better yet, enter it yourself! You know you want to try a Tyler recipe!