Last week I was hungry for an old-fashioned roast –something for a cozy, casual family dinner with plenty for leftovers. A large beef roast, though, is something of a high-stakes undertaking. To start, it’s a big ticket. And you need to watch your investment pretty closely as it cooks –get the internal temperature too low, and it’s a bloody mess, too high and the meat becomes dry and an unappetizing gray.
A pork roast, on the other hand, is a breeze.
It’s one of the great bargains of the butcher shop, and it’s easy and forgiving to cook. You can almost put it in the oven and forget it. For a large roast the cooking time is long –3 hours or more– but if you overshoot it by, say, half an hour, your roast will still be moist and delicious. Salt and pepper are seasoning enough, but here’s a recipe with flavors inspired by classic Italian porchetta, a whole, boned suckling pig slow roasted with aromatic herbs and spices (don’t try this at home, kids).
The only trick here is to season the roast a day or more advance to allow the herbs and spices to work their magic. Then there’s little to do on the day-of but pop it in the oven surrounded by some winter vegetables, and you’ll turn out a satisfying (and impressive) feast.
Recipe
(serves 8)
Ingredients
For the roast:
About 5 pounds (2.3kg) pork shoulder, boned
kosher salt (about 1/2 teaspoon per pound of meat)
grated zest of 1 lemon
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
About 12 sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1-2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped and coarsely chopped (to make about 1 heaping tablespoon)
About 1/4 cup (60ml) chopped fennel fronds (optional)
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
a few pinches of red pepper flakes
For the side vegetables:
2 fennel bulbs and assorted other winter vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, yellow onions, unpeeled garlic cloves, turnips, parsnips, and celery root, to make abut 2-3 pounds (1-1.5kg).
1 tablespoon of olive oil
kosher salt
Instructions
1. 1 to 3 days in advance of when you want to cook, season the roast. Put the herbs, spices, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper into a mortar and pestle and crush gently. You don’t want to crush it to a paste — just beat it up enough to release all of the flavors. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can crush the mixure with the back of a wooden spoon, or a rolling pin, but beware of the hint of garlic and rosemary in your next apple pie.) Reserve a handful of the feathery green parts of the fennel fronds for garnish.
2. Untie the roast and trim away all but about a 1/4 inch (6mm) layer of fat. Score the fat with a sharp knife. Then gently pull the roast apart, opening it up along its natural seams, exposing the pockets, nooks and crannies inside. Rub the seasoning into those spaces and all over the roast.
3. Retie the roast with kitchen twine –around the short way every couple of inches and once around the long way. Seal it up with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to three days.
4. Pull the roast out of the fridge an hour or two before you want to cook it. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C). Heat a roasting pan on the stove over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Place the roast in the pan (fat side up). (It should sizzle.) Put the roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes to brown and crisp the lovely layer of fat on top.
5. In the meantime, peel the vegetables and cut them into chunks. Toss with the olive oil and a couple pinches of salt.
6. Add the vegetables to the roasting pan and lower the heat to 325F (160C). Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 180F (82C) –about three more hours. Check the roast every hour or so. If the pan seems dry, add a little water so that you always have a shallow puddle of liquid on the bottom of the pan. If you think of it, roll the vegetables around in the pan juices every hour or so. (If you don’t –no worries.)
7. When the roast is done, remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. Remove and untie the roast and let it rest for 10-2o minutes before serving. The meat and vegetables will be tender and juicy enough to serve without a sauce, but if you like, you can quickly make a delicious pan sauce. Skim the fat off of the roasting pan and then pour the remaining juices (and crusty bits) into a sauce pan. Thin them with a little water (or white wine), bring them to a simmer over medium-high heat, taste and add salt, pepper and more liquid as necessary. Slice the roast about 1 inch thick and serve it and the vegetables with a spoonful of the sauce (if using) and a sprinkling of finely chopped fennel fronds.
