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 ½ 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
¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh sage leaves
4 tablespoons kosher salt (1 tablespoon for every pound of meat)
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ 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!
Kevin says
That pork sounds tasty! The meal looks good and I like the sound of that cilantro salsa.
Lori Lynn says
Pam, this photo is awesome!
LL
karen says
your pic is beautiful. glad your plan b worked out!
Debinhawaii says
Love the tacos with the gorgeous cilantro salsa. The pork rub sounds so delicious too!
n.o.e says
Oh, my, that pork sounds delicious, both as the recipe is written and as you improvised. Love the tacos!
Nancy
[eatingclub] vancouver || js says
That is one seriously yummy meal: good thinking with the tortilla and refried beans. Delish!
Grace says
i daresay that you do a better job with tyler's dishes than he can do himself. beautiful!
SweetPeaSurry says
Oh my goodness ... I've missed so many of your posts. I promise I'll get back too them ... This looks wonderful. I love your take on it too. heck ... use what you've got I always say!!!
Lisa says
That looks so delicious and your cilantro salsa is beautiful. On top of that, your photo is really striking. Nice post!
Michelle says
WOW...fennel and pork has to be a wonderful combination. We've had such a brutal winter this year and pork roast just seems to taste so good.
Jennifer says
Beautiful!!! I love Tyler Florence, none of his recipes have ever failed me 🙂
Terri and Bob says
Mmmm. MMmmmm. wow. Mmmmmm.
Joanne says
They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and it looks like you've proved just that. I wonder how this rub would be on pork tenderloin or pork chops, which I definitely cook more often than pork shoulder. Hmmm...
E Mama says
I just love your beautiful photo's of yummy food!
Pearl says
i seriously JUST HEARD tyler's voice saying "today we're going to be making the ultimate pork shoulder...."
*sigh* 🙂
Paula says
While your original meal plan sounded wonderful, I've got to tell you that you final plan was even better! Those pork tacos would even be devoured by my picky eaters! Love the gorgeous pork on the soft corn taco shell, along with that cilanro salsa ... YUM! Rounding it out with rice and beans sounds so good. I love the ingredients in that rub especially the fennel ... I can see why you liked it so much! 🙂
Pam says
Another beautiful photo. I love the sound of the marinade - can't wait to try it.
Shirley says
This sounds delicious. I love your idea of using it for tacos.
Marjie says
When you plan something, and it doesn't work out, and you can make it work after all, isn't life grand?
E4H says
definately more impressive than my rub... looks great though.