Holiday Pork Roast
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 22, 2011
Time
3¼ hours, plus 20 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Stuffing
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped fine10 garlic cloves, minced8 ounces ground pork 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (see note)3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon fennel seeds½ teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon salt 1 large egg, lightly beatenPork
2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon pepper 1 (4- to 5-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast (see note)Before You Begin
Boneless pork shoulder, often labeled Boston butt, is usually wrapped in netting. If all you can find is a bone-in roast, have the butcher remove the bone. To make the bread crumbs, pulse 1 or 2 pieces of hearty white sandwich bread in a food processor until coarsely ground.
Instructions
- For the stuffing: Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion until golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds; transfer to large bowl and let cool. Add ground pork, bread crumbs, parsley, fennel seeds, pepper flakes, salt, and egg to bowl with onion mixture and knead with hands until well combined.
- For the pork: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine sugar, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Butterfly pork and pound to ¾-inch thickness; you should have rectangle measuring about 15 by 8 inches. With long side facing you, cut pounded pork in half crosswise. Spread stuffing in even layer over each half of pork, leaving a 1-inch border around edges. Roll and tie each half securely with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Rub roasts evenly with sugar mixture and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and roast until meat registers 170 degrees, about 2 hours.
- Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Cook until roasts are well browned and meat registers 190 degrees, about 30 minutes. Transfer roasts to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Remove kitchen twine. Slice and serve.
Time
3¼ hours, plus 20 minutes restingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Stuffing
Pork
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Stuffing
Pork
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Stuffing
Pork
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Taking a cue from a pork roast recipe from northern Minnesota called porketta—which calls for opening up a pork butt like a book, lavishing it with gutsy seasonings, and then rolling and roasting it—we decided to borrow the seasoning mix but aim for a more substantial filling for our Holiday Pork Roast. We settled on a stuffing made with garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, plenty of onion, and ground pork. Adding the ground pork raw made for a moister stuffing, especially when bound with fresh bread crumbs and egg, which also helped hold the stuffing in place. To increase the surface area of the pork so we could pile it high with stuffing, we butterflied the butt by slicing it open nearly all the way through, pressing it flat, pounding it to an even thickness, then cutting the meat into two smaller roasts. This created two roasts that were easier to stuff and roll—and that cooked much faster than one big roast. To promote browning and to avoid having to sear the meat first, we simply rubbed the raw roast with salt, pepper, and brown sugar.
Before You Begin
Boneless pork shoulder, often labeled Boston butt, is usually wrapped in netting. If all you can find is a bone-in roast, have the butcher remove the bone. To make the bread crumbs, pulse 1 or 2 pieces of hearty white sandwich bread in a food processor until coarsely ground.
Instructions
- For the stuffing: Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion until golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds; transfer to large bowl and let cool. Add ground pork, bread crumbs, parsley, fennel seeds, pepper flakes, salt, and egg to bowl with onion mixture and knead with hands until well combined.
- For the pork: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine sugar, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Butterfly pork and pound to ¾-inch thickness; you should have rectangle measuring about 15 by 8 inches. With long side facing you, cut pounded pork in half crosswise. Spread stuffing in even layer over each half of pork, leaving a 1-inch border around edges. Roll and tie each half securely with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Rub roasts evenly with sugar mixture and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and roast until meat registers 170 degrees, about 2 hours.
- Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Cook until roasts are well browned and meat registers 190 degrees, about 30 minutes. Transfer roasts to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Remove kitchen twine. Slice and serve.
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