Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder (With Crackling!)
Our slow roasted pork shoulder has tender, juicy meat & the crispiest crackling ever! This is a foolproof way to cook roast pork that works every time.
Servings: 8 People
Equipment
- Roasting Tin With Rack
- Digital Food Probe
Ingredients
- 2.5 kg Boneless Pork Shoulder (Rolled & Skin Scored - See Notes)
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- Sea Salt
Instructions
Salting The Skin - The Night Before
- Pat your pork shoulder dry with kitchen paper then sprinkle the skin with the table salt. Place the pork onto a plate then chill in the fridge overnight, uncovered.
Roasting
- Take the pork out of the fridge, place onto a rack set inside a roasting tin then let the meat sit at room temperature for 1 hour.The pork needs to be facing skin side up.
- In the meantime, preheat an oven to 135°c/115°c fan (275°f/240°f).
- Next, coat the pork skin with the vegetable oil then season generously with sea salt. Rub the salt into the scores in the skin with your hands.
- Place the pork into the preheated oven then cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 71°c/160°f. This will take around 4-5 hours.
- Next, take the pork out of the oven then turn the temperature up to 240°c/464°f. Once up to to temperature, continue cooking the pork for 15-20 minutes, until the skin has crisped up nicely.The pork should have an internal temperature of at least 75°c/167°f once cooked.
- Once cooked, loosely cover the pork with foil then let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- To serve, carefully remove the string from the pork then cut the meat into slices with a sharp, serrated knife.
Notes
1. To Cook In An Aga - Slow roast the pork shoulder in the simmering oven, on the second from bottom set of runners (use the bottom runners if the pork hits the top of the oven). To crisp up the skin, roast the pork in the roasting oven, on the second from bottom set of runners.
2. Pork Shoulder - We're cooking to temperature not time, which means that this recipe will work with any size pork shoulder. If you're using a bigger shoulder, you'll need more salt & oil, to coat the skin.
We're using a boneless, rolled pork shoulder with the skin scored. You can ask your butcher to score the skin for or do it yourself!
3. Internal Temperatures - Pork shoulder needs to be cooked to 75°c/167°f, in order to be fully cooked & tender. As we're slow roasting the pork, we cook it to just under this temperature then turn the oven up to crisp up the skin & finish the meat off.
4. Slicing - To cut slices of pork with the crackling attached, it's best to use a sharp, serrated knife. Alternatively, you could remove the crackling & break into pieces then slice the meat separately.
5. Leftovers - Leftover roast pork needs to be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within 3 days. Leftovers can be served cold or reheated in the oven (in gravy is best!).