How to cook pork shoulder

Video: Cooking Pork Shoulder in the Oven

Content

Method 2 of 3: Slow Cooking Pork Shoulder
Method 3 of 3: Grilled Pork Shoulder
Tips
Warnings
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1 Let the pork shoulder stand. The pork shoulder must have reached room temperature before cooking. If you just got it out of the fridge, let the pork sit for about half an hour before you start cooking it. If you took it out of the freezer, let the pork defrost overnight.

2 Preheat oven to 177 ° C. While you are waiting for the pork to warm up, you need to preheat the oven (especially if it is slowly heating up). If the pork is frozen and thawed, you need to wait until the defrosting process is complete, and only then turn on the oven.

3 Place the pork on a rack in the broiler. Use a kitchen hob to prevent pork from simmering in its own juices during cooking. The heat-resistant tray will allow you to collect all the pork juices that flow down during the cooking process. Use these juices as a gravy, or discard them after cooking.

Place the pork fat side up on a rack. When the pork is cooked, the fat will saturate the meat and melt as it drips over the pork. Essentially, this is how the pork becomes fat without your input.

4 Evaluate the pork. Take a sharp knife and make a cruciform incision on top of the pork shoulder. So pork is better saturated not only with its own juices, but also with seasonings.

5 Rub the pork with your favorite seasonings, spices, or marinade. Be very generous with seasonings - by and large, it is the crust that makes pork tasty, the taste of which is determined by the seasonings used. There are a lot of seasonings and spices for making pork shoulder. Some can be bought in stores, while others can be made at home.

When in doubt, simply rub in salt, pepper, garlic, and a few basic spices of your choice (especially thyme and coriander). If the seasonings do not stick well, first lightly coat the meat with olive oil.
To marinate pork, it must be dipped in a solution, which is usually made from butter, and one or more acidic ingredients and seasonings to taste. The acidic ingredients "cut" the oil in the marinade, which ensures a pleasant taste in the finished product and avoids excessive fat content. Leave the pork in the marinade for at least four hours, all day or more.
- Alternatively, you can use the sample dry spice and marinade recipes above.

6 Sear the pork shoulder for about an hour per pound of meat. Cooking pork shoulder takes a long time and slowly. Roast should be cooked in the oven for about 1 hour per pound of meat. If necessary, if the pork is cooking too quickly, you can lower the temperature - many recipes require 163 ° C instead of 177 ° C.

When the pork is cooked, its crust should be crispy, the meat's core temperature should be 70-85 ° C, and any bone in the meat should be easy to "wiggle" when picked up and shaken.

7 Leave the pork for 10-15 minutes before chopping. Like other meats, pork tastes best when it is allowed to “rest” after it has been removed from the oven.Resting the meat allows it to infuse due to its internal heat and to reabsorb moisture that was lost if the meat was cut immediately after it was removed from the oven.

After a short rest, the meat is ready. Enjoy the delicious grilled pork shoulder!

Method 2 of 3: Slow Cooking Pork Shoulder

There is nothing more delicious than tender, mouth-watering, slow-cooked pork, one of which makes your mouth water. Pork cooked in this way becomes so tender and juicy that it can be divided with just a fork. Many recipes for pork stew, carnitas, and other chopped pork dishes require slow cooking. You will need a slow cooker for this method.

1 Leave the pork to come to room temperature. As above, remove the pork from the refrigerator or freezer and let it warm up naturally. If the meat is frozen, let it thaw overnight.
2 Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place a broiler or skillet on the stove while you wait for the pork to warm up. When it gets hot enough for a drop of water to boil on it, add a few tablespoons of oil.
3 Cook the golden pork shoulder in a skillet. Place a piece of pork shoulder in a skillet. Cook over high heat until golden brown on all sides (takes a few minutes on each side). Slow cookers cook with wet steam - they are not able to provide the pork with a tasty crust, which is why you will first have to fry the outside of the pork in a pan and only then put the meat in the slow cooker.
4 Add seasonings and / or vegetables to the saucepan. You can cook delicious pork on its own, but if you're using a slow cooker to stew the grilled meats to juicy and tasty perfection, be sure to add other ingredients to the pot as well. Vegetables and seasonings will add flavor to the pork (and vice versa), which will enrich the flavor of the dish. In addition, slowly "languishing" vegetables will be an excellent side dish for pork.
- Add your favorite vegetables. Chopped onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes are great.
- Plus, condiments are easy to get. For Latin carnitas, you can try cumin, garlic powder and pepper, and for European flavors, sage, rosemary and thyme.
5 Coat the pork (and other ingredients) with the liquid of your choice. Place the pork shoulder in a saucepan and add the desired ingredients on top. Sprinkle everything with seasoning. Then cover 1 / 2–3 / 4 of the pork shoulder with the liquid. You can use water, unsweetened apple juice, or another liquid. Choose based on what matches the ingredients and seasonings in the pork dish you are making - there is no "right" answer. Feel free to mix and match!
- If you are making the carnitas described above, slow cooker with Mexican beer for a delicious, full-bodied flavor.
- You can use the rest of the liquid as a sauce or gravy for cooked pork.
6 Cook over low heat for 8-10 hours. Place the lid on the pot and start the long and slow cooking process. Slow cooking gives you leeway in terms of time, but typically there are about 2 hours of cooking for every pound of meat. Check the dish several times during cooking and add more liquid if necessary.
- The pork shoulder is ready when it is very tender and detaches from the bones with the slightest effort.
7 For pork stew, use forks to carve the meat before serving. Many slow-cooked pork dishes (such as carnitas) are eaten as "stew" pork - meat cut into small pieces. To make the pork stew, open the slow cooker when the meat is done, use two forks or tongs and carve the pork. Continue until you are satisfied with the result.

Method 3 of 3: Grilled Pork Shoulder

For summer parties, there is nothing like grilled pork shoulder. The aroma (and tone) of pork shoulder sizzling on a hot grill will drive pork lovers crazy. Take a gas or classic grill (don't forget the bricks).

1 Bring the pork to room temperature and season as desired. As indicated above, the pork should be warmed up gradually. When the pork is at room temperature, season it with the spices to taste so that the dry and aromatic top of the pork turns into a crispy and tasty crust after grilling.
- When it comes to dry spices, you have tons of options. For example, for barbecue, try grating pork with a combination of white and brown sugar, salt, pepper, and other spices to taste (like cinnamon and cumin).
2 Check the pork shoulder. Take a sharp knife and make fairly small cross-shaped cuts on the surface of the pork. As noted above, this will allow the pork to be more saturated with its own juice, and the heat of the grill and the flavor of the seasoning will penetrate deeper into the meat.
3 Preheat your grill to medium heat. Regardless of which type of grill you use, your goal is to cook pork at a constant temperature of around 107 ° C. A grill thermometer will help you monitor the temperature of your grill as it heats up. Place a lid on the grill to speed up the heating process. Brush it with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray to prevent the oil from sticking to the wire rack as it cooks.
- If you have a gas grill, set it to medium power. In the case of a barbecue, this is a little more difficult. Light the charcoal and wait for the flame to go out. Coal is ready when most of it turns gray, and some of the coals are hot - they should be red-orange.
4 Place a tray of water on the grill. This will help you regulate the temperature inside the grill and prevent the pork from drying out. Place a heat-resistant saucepan or metal baking pan full of water on the grill, if there is enough space. If you have a two-level grill, place the tray on the top shelf.
5 Grill pork shoulder for about 90 minutes per pound of meat. Place the pork on the grill and cover with the lid. Check the pork for readiness from time to time. When the meat is done, the pork crust should be golden brown, its texture should be tender, and the internal temperature should reach 70 ° C.
- Cooking pork this way can take a long time, so start the process early in the morning to make it ready for dinner.
6 Let the meat sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting. As stated above, grilled pork tastes better if you let it “rest” from a heat source before eating. Cover the meat while it is steeping to protect it from insects and other things.
7 Smoke the meat with wood chips for an extra smoky flavor. The enviable rich and smoky aroma you strive for can be effortlessly achieved with electric smoking equipment and home grills. To smoke a pork shoulder, soak wood chips in water (hickory, oak, and apple trees are great) overnight before cooking. Place these raw wood chips in boat-shaped aluminum foil (folded pouch open at the top) and place them directly on a gas grill burner or charcoal grill. Since the wood smokes and burns during grilling, it will add a smoky aroma and flavor to the meat.
- To learn how to smoke a pork shoulder on a smoking machine, read our article - "How to use an electric smoker."
8 Bon Appetit!