The best cut to use for this is pork butt. Buy a size that equals about one pound for every person you’re serving, i.e. for 5 people you should get a 5 pound roast. It sounds like a lot but, trust me on this, it’s just right.

Plan on a start to finish preparation time of 3-4 hours, depending on the size of the roast. So if you’re serving dinner at 5:00 you should get the roast in the oven between 1:00 and 2:00.

Take the roast out of the refrigerator a half hour to an hour before you plan to start cooking it to allow it to come to room temperature. Turn your oven on 450 degrees at the same time you take the roast out of the refrigerator to allow the oven to get super heated.

You can brine the roast the night before or just use your favorite available seasonings when you get ready to put the roast in the oven. I use a thin coating of Bouquet to get a nice browning on the outside along with Cavender’s Greek spice. You’re fine using just salt, pepper and garlic if you like. Season the surface well all over, place on a baking sheet and insert a meat thermometer into the center of the thickest part of the roast, making sure the stem is not touching a bone.

Put the roast in the oven and cook at 450 for 20 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 325 and cook to an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Your total cooking time will be around 3 hours, again, depending on the size of your roast.

Take the roast out and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. Do not remove the thermometer until just before carving. Doing this before the meat cools down through resting will cause much of the natural juices to run out and you’ll end up with dry meat versus succulent.

 

Enjoy!