On keto, I’m always looking for different ways to get fatty meats into my diet that will taste great and keep my wallet (and stomach) full. Yesterday, I picked up this 8 pound roast for just under $16. Yep, that’s under $2 a pound – and it’ll feed an entire family for a few days! Pulled pork is just plain delicious – and if you think we have to slather or smoke this baby just to coax some flavor out of it – you could never have been so wrong.
Double check on what type of pork shoulder you are actually getting. There are 2 parts of the pork shoulder – the Picnic Roast (what we’re using) and Boston Butt (which comes from the upper part of the shoulder). Boston Butt is generally a bit more expensive, but will usually have the bone removed for easier serving. If you end up using a Boston Butt, you will have to keep an eye on it – it will cook quicker and is usually a bit smaller in size. Not to mention, it’s usually boneless which means it can dry out if you’re not careful.
The Picnic Roast is what we’re using. This cut of meat is generally a little bit tougher than a Boston Butt, though ends up with a great final texture and more flavor. Instead of getting those soft stringy – almost mushy – pieces of meat, we’ll have meaty chunks of pork that we can literally pull apart with our fingers. It does take a little extra cooking time, and a little more patience – but it’s so easy and way cheaper.
Pork shoulder normally takes up a whole afternoon of cooking, but I really don’t like smelling the pork all day and getting hungry, so I opt to cook it overnight. I generally have a game plan of 9-10 hours that I’ll be cooking it for, so I just keep that in mind for what time I should put it in the oven for when I get up in the morning. You definitely don’t want to rush the cooking process. Slow and low will allow for the fat and connective tissues to render down properly, essentially basting the whole shoulder as you cook it. This results in incredibly tender and juicy pork once you’re finished.
You may be wondering what the heck you’re going to do with 20 servings of pork. You can practically feed a whole party or gathering with just 1 roast – and it’s perfect for cooking and freezing for future recipes. Over the next few days I’ll be posting some new recipes that I’ve made using the pork shoulder – keep an eye out!
Yields 20 servings (6 oz.) of Crispy Skin Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder
The Preparation
- 128 ounces bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder, room temperature
- 3 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
If you want to use a leaner cut with a faster cook time, our pork tenderloin with curried cabbage uses tenderloin instead of shoulder and swaps the spice rub for curry powder and sauteed cabbage.
The Execution
1. Completely wash and pat dry the pork. Leave on the counter-top for 2-3 hours to come to room temperature.
2. Once the pork has been dried and is coming to romm temperature (after a few hours), preheat your oven to 250F. Mix together all of the spices in a bowl.
3. Starting skin side down, pat the salt rub all over the pork to completely cover it. Once the bottom is done, flip and place on a wire rack that’s sitting over a baking sheet covered in foil. Spread the rub on all sides and top of the pork.
4. Once your oven is preheated and pork rubbed, place into the oven and bake for anywhere between 8-10 hours. I did 10 hours for my 8 lb. roast, but if you have smaller sizes or bigger sizes, you will have to adjust accordingly. You essentially want the internal temperature to be about 190F.
5. Remove the pork from the oven and cover with foil. Allow the pork to rest for 15 total minutes. Preheat oven to 500F.
6. Once pork is rested and oven to at 500F, remove the foil tent from the pork and place into the oven. We will rotate the pork every 5 minutes to allow for even cooking of the skin (YAY CRACKLINS’). There may be smoke that comes out of your oven during this process due to the fat that dripped off during the roast time burning. You can either open the window or remove this fat previous to putting into the oven.
7. Take the pork out of the oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing/digging in.
8. Serve up for family and friends alike – the pork should be completely tender, easily seperating from the roast by pulling the meat off with your fingers.
This makes a total of 20 servings of Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder. Each serving comes out to be 531 calories, 38.8g fats, 0.3g net carbs, and 42.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 128 ounce bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder | 10596 | 776.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 844.8 |
| 3 1/2 tablespoon salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 teaspoon dried oregano | 7 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| 1 teaspoon black pepper | 5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon garlic powder | 10 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 1 teaspoon onion powder | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Totals | 10627 | 776.4 | 7.4 | 2.4 | 5.1 | 846 |
| Per Serving (/20) | 531 | 38.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 42.3 |
Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder
Ingredients
- 128 ounce bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder room temperature
- 3 ½ tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Wash the pork thoroughly and pat dry. Let sit on the countertop for 2–3 hours to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 250F. Mix all of the spices together in a bowl.
- Starting skin-side down, apply the salt rub generously all over the pork. Once the bottom is done, flip it over and place on a foil-lined baking tray with a rack. Apply the rub on all sides and on top of the pork.
- Place in the oven and cook for 8–10 hours, depending on the size of the roast. It needs to reach an internal temperature of about 190F.
- Remove the pork from the oven and cover with foil. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Turn up the oven to 500F.
- After resting the meat, remove the foil tent and place the pork back into the oven. Rotate it every 5 minutes to allow for even cooking of the skin. Smoke may come out of the oven during this process, as the fat that dripped off during roasting begins to burn. Open the window or, alternatively, remove this fat prior to placing the pork in the oven.
- Remove the pork from the oven and let rest for 15–20 minutes before slicing/digging in.
- Serve and enjoy!
made on this morning. was delicious. thanks for all your recipes.
Brunella…you have possibly been the fastest person at trying one of my recipes ever. Wow you did that quick! Glad it turned out well 🙂
At the 500 phase, when you say rotate, do you mean rotate the top to the bottom? Or rotate it along the flat plane, to make sure hot spots in your oven don’t overcook certain parts?
Hey Rob – great question. I mean rotate on a horizontal plane so that all of the skin can get cooked properly. Always keep the skin side up.
wondered that myself
Think it would work with a slow cooker instead of 250 in the oven all say?
I think it’d work in the slow cooker, but you’d still need to crisp the skin up at the end. I’ve read some slow cooker recipes that get slightly crisp skin, but you want to have it really crisp – so the oven would be needed on the finish.
Just to report back – totally worked in the slow cooker, crisping in the oven afterward. It was so, so good!
Ooh, great to hear. Did you cook it on low for the same amount of time? Glad you liked it!
I made this today!! I made the wonderful mistake of buying my pork from Costco and two shoulders were packaged together, so I decided to cook both. My husband wasn’t very happy that we would have left overs until the end of the time…. Until he ate some. So great, moist and falling off the bone! Delicious!!
Glad to hear it Nicole – plus I made a bunch of different things with the leftovers from these so you should have no problem making some awesome leftovers 🙂 Enjoy!
This was awesome! I could only get a 3lb picnic, which only took 6 hours but turned out better than any picnic I’ve done in the past. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Glad to hear it Audra – I loved it too. I use this method every time (except when I’m lazy and toss it in a slow cooker :P)
Glad to hear it Audra – I loved it too. I use this method every time (except when I’m lazy and toss it in a slow cooker :P)
When you cranked the oven to 500 deg was it the broiler you turned on or was it bake preheated to 500?
No, it was actually the bake function. You could broil it, I’m sure, though – as I know some older ovens won’t go to 500.
When you cranked the oven to 500 deg was it the broiler you turned on or was it bake preheated to 500?
Had an 8# butt that just came out of the oven–roasted it over night. Getting ready for the high heat cracklin part while having a cup o’ coffee. Thanks for the recipe! The shoulder looks and smells fantastic. We will be eating on this for a while but I know whatever it becomes it’s going to be great.
I used pork cushion for this recipe. It was the most delicious roast I’ve ever had! It was incredibly juicy and moist on the inside and delightfully crispy and crunchy on the outside. I’ll definitely be making this 5 star dinner again!
That sounds amazing Kazz. I’m really glad to hear you like it – and I hope you guys continue to make it. If you ever change it up, let me know how it goes!
Let me start of by saying I’m from Memphis so very picky on my Que.
I started this last night and it was a great call. I like to sleep late on the weekends so I lowered the temp to 225 and let it go for about 11 hours. Internal temp was 185 f. It was very very tasty but a bit drier on the top than I prefer, next time I’m going try and flip it 2/3 of the way done, as the bottom was very moist and tender but the top just didn’t meet my standards.
It is a hit that’s for sure and @ 12 bucks for 8 lbs of meat could easily turn into a normal Sunday feast.
The overall look is a bit different for two reasons.
One I loaded on some Dancing Pigs. My favorite rub from home.
Second instead of turing during the browning I stood it on it’s end and let the convection roast do it’s job it blackened up so quick I only did it for 10 minutes instead of 20.
This meal alone was worth my donation 😉
I’d definitely say I’m not as well experience with BBQ as someone from Memphis, but I’m really glad you like the recipe! I think I might have had the same problem as you, with a bit of dryness at the top, so I will definitely try flipping it over as suggested next time I cook this. Thanks for the awesome insight…now to find some of this Dancing Pigs seasoning – it sounds delicious!
Have you tried the “flip”; and did it help?
Mine in oven now….
Awesome smell walking into my house after work, thanks for the great recipe!
Awesome to hear – hope you loved it!
could you cover with foil to prevent the drying out on top? Also, besides easy clean up, why put foil on the baking sheet, if I want to make a gravy, don’t I need the dripping on the pan?
I have everything prepped and ready and all of a sudden I noticed my roasting bags from last thanksgiving could I use those for the 9 hour oven time and then remove from the bag and grill for about an hour?
You could definitely do that. Sorry for the late reply. What did you end up doing? Hope it turned out well!
I made this last night and it turned out perfectly. The pork was so tender and delicious and we now have meals for the next three days! I will definitely make this again.
Can I slow cook this for a few hours first please, then do the Browning in the oven?
I think so! Worst case scenario is that it starts falling apart in the crockpot.
Got a shoulder loaded up as I type. Looks like an amazing recipe and the smell is already kicking up! I’m sure it’s going to be amazing. I plan to follow the recipe and cooking directions almost to the letter. I did do a slight change to the rub recipe, I added a tablespoon of brown sugar, a half-teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of cumin. The rub looks perfect as is, but I was wanting to add a little bit of sweet and a little bit of heat to the spices.
This is primarily a low-carb/ketogenic website so we don’t recommend the added sugar. However, I don’t see any problem with it being added in in the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
It turned out fairly well. My only issue was an unrelated one. The baking element in my ancient stove gave out during the final couple of hours of the bake and I had to finish it under the broiler. The interruption/change of heat madevthe meat slightly dry. Aside from that, it was great…no real flaw in the recipe. I’ll be cooking it again soon in the new stove.
I just saw this, because I was looking for a recipe for pork shoulder. I am planning to make this, but am wondering if it is okay to just slip a teaspoon of dry jerk seasoning rub into the spice mix. I love jerk seasoning.
Yes, do it!
In my oven right now and the house smells amazing! We try a lot of these recipes and have not been unhappy yet. THANK YOU!!!!!
As a person fighting heart failure I reduced the salt to 1 teaspoon and added some rosemary.
Just tried out the recipe on a 3.8kg freshly butchered pork shoulder (no bones, so considered Boston Butt?)
Took us 8 hours of roasting (with first hour facing oven gas ducting clogged and unable to go lower than 150℃) at 180℃ without convection fan and occasional venting/opening of oven door… didn’t have any wired grill mesh so just laid it on the S/S rack and baking tray below to save the fluids.
Came out rather nice and tender. Our first pork roast, ever. So happy 🙂
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That looks so delicious!
Having never cooked a pork shoulder before, nor slow cooked, I kind of felt this type of meat and style of cooking was out of my league. I’m no stranger to cooking, but still, the shear size of this beast concerned me. I found this recipe and was surprised it seemed so simple, and I was even a little skeptical at its simplicity but I followed it step by step and couldn’t have been more pleased with the result. I had it slow roasting for 8 hours (7+lb shoulder) before I checked the temperature, which was around 205 degrees. I hoped it wouldn’t be over cooked nor dry. A taste test affirmed it was neither and after letting it rest a bit we began to remove the meat. I made two delicious sandwiches of pulled pork mixed with a little BBQ sauce and of course a few chunks as is, and we were all very pleased with the result, and proud. A few of us had a hand in the process. What a great fAmily effort this turned out to be, and we thoroughly enjoyed the outcome. Great recipe!!!!
What a great story of the family coming together and creating a meal. I am so happy that this recipe was well received and I hope you get the chance of doing it again!
Fantastic! Pork came out just like picture. I had an 11 lb. Picnic I thought it was going to take 9-10 hours but was at 200 degrees at 8 hours. So just did the rest of crackling an it was perfect! Thank you
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I think the internal temp suggestion for the meat might be a bit off. I made this this evening and though it was good, it was a bit dry. The recommended internal temp for this recipe is 190 degrees, and for whatever reason I didn’t think to question that suggestion. When the recommended cooking time was almost up, I then decided to look at the suggested internal temp for pork (it has a guide on the thermometer that tells you what temp different types of meat should be), and it suggested an internal temp of 145 degrees, I had a timer on for 10 hrs, which was the time recommended. I ran to my computer to double check (meat still in the oven) and sure enough, it’s recommended to cook to 145 degrees. I’m happy that I had some gravy to go with it. I do consider this my fault, as I should have double checked as I usually do when I follow new recipes, and I should have started checking the temp probably at 8.5 or 9 hrs. But my roast was close to 10 lbs vs your 8 lb so I figured, if anything, when I check it at 10 hrs, I might actually have to leave it in a bit longer. Anyway, the thermometer read 182 degrees when I pulled it out in a panic and checked. It was still quite tasty and the skin crisped up nicely. I’m basically writing this review so others that haven’t tried it yet will know that 190 degrees internal temp is WAY too hot for a juicy pork shoulder. Or really, any meat.
145 is the minimum that pork should be cooked to for safety reasons, it’s definitely not the limit. Sometimes slow cooked or smoked pork will even be taken in excess of 200 degrees so that you get that effect where the meat literally falls apart. Throwing a roast in a slow cooker can work the same way as most of their low settings are about 190 degrees, and you’d leave it in for 8 hours or more.
It’s kind of perplexing that it would come out dry, as long as the meat isn’t too lean then you shouldn’t have any problems with it, but let us know if you try another way of doing this that turns out better for you. 🙂
Since I’ve had issues with my oven smoking way too much, you know “you have a fire” alarms going off, kind of smoke at 500 degrees in a small kitchen….I’m tempted to do the last crackling part on the grill at 500 degrees (lid closed). Thoughts?
Finishing it on the grill sounds like an awesome idea!
thanks
LOVED this roast!!! Made it for July 4th dinner and was a hit across the board!! Will make frequently in near future. Wouldn’t change a thing!! We purchased a 9lb picnic roast and 10 hrs at 250°F yielded an internal temp of 190°, tender, fall-off-the-bone goodness! Sharing recipe with family and friends. Thank you!!!
Thanks for the feedback. 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was a winner for your 4th of July dinner!
Can I use a roasting pan instead of a baking sheet covered in foil? I am bringing this to a friend’s house and it would be easier to transport!
Hey Karen,
Yes, you can — Just make sure you find a way to raise the meat above the fat and drippings as it cooks.
Skin side up or down?
Place it on the rack skin side up.
Love this recipe. This is my fourth time making it and the family loves it! Just took it out after 9 hours and now resting while I get the oven ready at 500 degrees. My kids can’t wait since they have been smelling it all day
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I’m really glad to hear you guys like it – your roast looks awesome!
I found this recipe this afternoon … took the advice of cooking overnight. I put an 8-1/2 pound picnic in the oven at 11:30 (an hour or so ago) – really look forward to having this tomorrow!
Sounds delicious! Let us know how it turns out 🙂
We made it today. It exceeded expectations.
Glad you enjoyed it, Denis! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I found your recipe a few years ago, pinned it and have been making it every Christmas or New Year. Comes out perfect every time.
Great idea, Cynthia! This is perfect for the holidays. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Hi, just to clarify should I use regular ol’ salt or kosher salt?
I used kosher salt in this recipe 🙂
Quite delicious. I was going to go the Instant Pot route but was excited at the prospect of cracklings. Hardest part was finding the right 20 hour window. I pulled the meat from the fridge at about midnight, and got it in the oven at 2:30 a.m. was having a sleepless night. We had a lovely mid-day meal. I absolutely advise pouring off the grease before the 500° stint in the oven. I filled a cereal bowl with the grease, wiped out the pan, and replaced the foil. Smoke alarms would have been the least of my problems if the grease had remained. I suspect I would have a kitchen fire on my hands. I’ll definitely make this again.
Thanks for the feedback and tips! Glad you enjoyed it, Christine 🙂
Hi, I am in the process of cooking a pork picnic whole using this recipe. I will update later but I just want to let you know that’s some of us may have an issue with the timing I have a pork picnic that is just over 8 lb and 10 hours did not do the trick. I have resorted to turning the temperature up to 165 and at 10 hours and 45 minutes I’m only at 180°. Looks good smells good but I wasn’t planning on eating this late in the evening 🤣 so maybe think about starting a little bit earlier. Thank you for the recipe they’re not many I can find usiing a picnic. Oh by the way I found some information on the problem with the temperature is called the pork stall… Just Google it 😁
I just made this so good. I tweaked it just a bit . I made a 11 lb picnic shoulder, cut under the skin so I could pull back the skin and seasoned there as well as everywhere else. I added a bit of cayenne pepper and paprika to the dry rub . Did as directed adding just a bit more time . Had it for lunch pork was so tender and the skin was done to perfection.
Those adjustments sound delicious! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I did not enjoy this recipe. It is unclear as to whether the roast itself should be covered with foil. I did not cover it and it came out very, very dry. I was able to salvage some of the meat and used it for pork tacos the next night. Those were good, but the roast itself – the first night – not worth all the time it took. I personally will never buy one of these roasts again. I’ll stick with Boston Butt – much juicier and less time to cook.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it. You can reduce the cook time if it comes out dry, but if you didn’t have a good experience I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to try it again to be honest.
This turned out fantastic! Made my own rub that includes brown sugar and smoke seasoning. Let roast sit in refrigerator over night, then followed your directions early this morning. Exactly 250 degrees for 10 hours turned out a beautiful roast! Only did 5 minutes at 500 degrees as the brown sugar had perfectly caramelized the fat. It was delicious and moist. It smelled so good that our Pyrenees just kept circling my kitchen island as I shredded the meat! Wonderful dinner and several more in the freezer. So glad I found your page. Thanks.
Thanks for the feedback, Barb! Sounds like it’s time for me to make this again haha. Glad you loved it 🙂
My husband watched his German mother cook her picnic should roast. His memory had her searing the roast on the stovetop first. Then finishing in the oven over many hours at low heat. Then she removed the roast to a platter to rest, and made gravy from the dripping in the roasting pan on the stovetop. My question is: do you think this will work out well? I realize that the outside probably won’t turn out crispy, as yours does. But do you think it will still be wonderful?
That sounds delicious! And yes, that method will work. It will probably come out crispy as well (as long as the skin isn’t soaking in the drippings).
Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Delicoous and super simple! I think it’s easier to do this in the oven than to cook in a slow cooker!
Sounds to me the pan is covered with foil for the 8-10 hour stint then the roast is covered with foil for the rest stage after rest remove the foil from the roast only the roast at 500 for up to 15 mins depending on size desired outcome etc? Am I close?
Pork came out delicious. I did high heat 550 degrees for 15 min then turned down to 250. Moist & tender. 6.5 pound boston butt bone in 6 hours. Will make again. I cut back the amount of salt to 2 TBSP was still to much next time I will probably either eliminate salt all together or just sprinkle on the salt before all other seasonings. Thank you for a wonderful recipe https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6f8c62a8b694b339d06357a1056a3acbc93a4100c16d23e4040025335f1d654e.jpg
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you’re able to adapt it all to fit your tastes as well 😊
Okay, “inquiring minds want to know”, what time did you wake up to make this beast?
I make this roast all the time. I cannot even tell you how many times I’ve made it. It is one of my family’s favorites. Even my parents love to come over for dinner when I make this. I follow the recipe exactly. I serve it with a Puerto Rican yellow rice with gandules and green olives. So easy and delicious!
Really happy to hear you’ve come back to it again and again!
roast was juicy and had a nice crust. Everyone loved it, I thought it was a bit salty so next time I’ll add half the salt. Thanks for the recipe.
Would it be possible to rest it in a cooler for a few hours before crisping the skin?
just baked a beauty last night. Fell off the bone.11.5 lbs and 2 cups of gravy. I added about 4 cups of water to the original 2 cups that I started with. Delicious. Pat Dwyer from Westport CT