best damn pork butt roast

Our pork roasts are stored in the barn freezer which means I keep forgetting to use them. But a couple weeks ago when we had friends coming for supper, I started remembering.

I thawed the meat the night before but didn’t bother to look for a recipe until that morning, and then I regretted my last-minute tendencies because the recipes were all over the place: browning meat ahead of time, insta-potting it, marinating, etc, etc. 

I finally found a recipe that seemed pretty straightforward — rub a spice blend all over the meat and then roast it low and slow — but then I didn’t get it in the oven soon enough so it was still baking when our friends arrived. We ended up visiting for nearly an hour, with me periodically jumping up to go jab a thermometer into the butt hunk. I was worried it’d be tough — I’m not good with meat, and our friends come from families which dominate when it comes to pork roasts (what was I thinking?) — but everyone was like, It’s gonna be fine. LET’S EAT.  

So eventually, even though the temps weren’t a uniform 180 degrees, I decided to just go for it. I sliced the roast thinly and set it on the table along with the corn, mashed potatoes, and collards, and hoped for the best.

And the best is exactly what happened! We devoured it, literally. The five of us ate (all but two slices of) that whole entire roast. 

“I guess this means I gotta change the week’s menu,” I said. “I was going to make pork tacos with the leftovers, but not anymore!”

“Just take off the ‘s,’” my husband said. “There’s enough meat for a pork taco.”

This week I roasted another pork butt (the one photographed here). This one I ripped into shreds and served it with fresh corn tortillas, a purple cabbage and carrot slaw, and an herby mayo dressing.

Once again, there weren’t many leftovers. 

Best Damn Pork Butt Roast
Adapted from Recipe Teacher.

Since leftovers are amazing and there are never enough, consider doing two roasts at once. The oven’s already running for the whole afternoon, so you might as well.

1 3-4 pound boneless pork butt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon each granulated onion, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, black pepper, and ground mustard
¼ teaspoon chipotle powder (or cayenne)

If the roast is encased in mesh, remove it. Cut off extra fat, leaving a quarter-inch cap. 

Mix the dry ingredients together and then sprinkle them over the roast on all sides. If you have time, let the roast rest in the fridge for up to 24 hours. 

Place the roast in a roasting pan on a rack, fat cap facing up. There is no need to cover the meat while it bakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. It’ll look like something left behind in a house fire, but no worries: the fat keeps the meat tender and juicy. (If a longer bake time is desired, feel free to drop the oven temp to 300 degrees. )

Let the meat rest for 10-20 minutes before thinly slicing (or shredding) and serving.

This same time, years previous: my new office, the quotidian (1.9.23), classic Christmas fruitcake, my new kitchen: pendant lighting, the quotidian (1.9.17), sourdough crackers, one year and one day, between two worlds, the qotidian (1.9.12), hog butchering.