This six-ingredient pork shoulder roast is juicy, fork-tender, and burnished with a sticky and savory peach barbecue glaze! It’s a perfect, low-effort main dish that serves a crowd. Plus, it’s paleo, gluten-free, and Whole30 compatible!

Two forks are shredding a slow roasted pork shoulder roast before being served.

Easy crowd pleaser!

I’ve slow cooked pork shoulder in the oven for years—experimenting with different times and temperatures—and this simple and nomtastic roast pork shoulder recipe is the BEST way to do it! Simply salt a big pork shoulder roast overnight, crack on some pepper, and slow roast it in the oven for about 5 to 6 hours. While the pork cooks, mix together a simple peach barbecue sauce with just 3 INGREDIENTS and brush it on before the last 30 minutes of cooking. It’s pretty much fool-proof and everyone will rave about it!

Tips on how to make the best pork shoulder roast

  • Buy a high quality bone-in pork shoulder from your favorite butcher. Ask for a rectangular bone-in pork butt roast with the fat cap intact—you’ll end up with perfectly tender meat!
  • Salt the pork ahead of time. The longer you have to dry-brine it, the tastier the pork will be!
  • Roast the pork in a roasting pan with a rack. A whole pork shoulder is going to be heavy so you’ll need a sturdy pan (as opposed to a flimsy and shallow baking sheet). Plus, you’ll be adding water to the pan to prevent the drippings from burning so you’ll want to use a pan with high sides. No roasting pan? A large heavy-duty oven-safe skillet should work!
  • Don’t be tempted to increase the temperature! A tough, collagen-rich piece of meat like pork shoulder needs to be cooked low and slow. Believe me: I’ve experimented with increasing the temperature (to make the cooking time faster), but the highest you can go while maintaining quality is 325°F. Also, there’s no need to blast the meat with a high temperature at the beginning or end because that’ll result in a dry roast.
  • Brush on the barbecue sauce at the end! Don’t be tempted to slather on the barbecue sauce at the beginning of the roasting because it will burn. Just do it in the last 30 minutes of cooking! Also, make sure you save some sauce to slather on at the end while the roast is resting out of the oven.

Ingredients

An overhead shot of the raw ingredients to make a pork shoulder roast in the oven.
  • 8- to 10-pound bone-in, whole pork shoulder roast: Technically, I prefer a bone-in, pork butt roast rather than a picnic shoulder or picnic roast. The bone-in pork butt roast is well-marbled and has the fat cap intact (but normally no skin) so the resulting dish will be moist and super shreddable. If you use a smaller roast or a boneless pork butt roast, decrease the cooking time and monitor the internal temperature.
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt: You really only need salt and pepper to season this roast, but I sometimes sub one of my Nom Nom Paleo spice blends for an extra kick of flavor.
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Peach or apricot jam: If you want to keep this dish Whole30-compatible, I recommend using St. Dalfour brand jams that are sweetened only with fruit juice concentrate. It adds natural sweetness without having to add brown sugar or honey.
  • Coconut aminos: Adds umami and savoriness to the easy barbecue glaze.
  • Red Boat fish sauce: Don’t leave it out! This is the secret to a tasty 3-ingredient sauce!

How to make a slow roasted pork shoulder roast

Prepare the pork roast

Using a sharp knife, carefully score the fat cap in a 1-inch crosshatch pattern, making sure you don’t cut into the meat.

A chef's knife is cutting a shallow crosshatch pattern in the fat cap on top of a bone-in pork shoulder roast.

Sprinkle the salt all over the pork roast. Cover the roast with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator for 12 to 48 hours to dry-brine.

A hand is sprinkling kosher salt all over a large bone-in pork shoulder roast.

Bake the pork shoulder roast in the oven

When you are ready to slow roast the pork, heat the oven to 325°F with the oven rack in the lowest position. While the oven is heating up, add freshly cracked black pepper all over the pork shoulder roast.

A person is using pepper mill to add fresh cracked black pepper on a large pork shoulder roast.

Grab a roasting pan and rack and spray the rack with avocado oil spray or brush on some avocado oil.

An Asian woman in glasses is spraying avocado oil on a rack in a roasting pan.

Place the pork shoulder roast fat-side up on the rack.

An Asian woman is placing a seasoned bone-in pork shoulder roast onto a greased rack in a roasting pan.

Pour 3 cups of water into the roasting pan, or enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer. The water will keep the drippings from burning and smoking during the long roast.

Pouring water from a large measuring cup into a roasting pan with a pork shoulder roast on a rack.

Roast the pork in the oven for 5 to 6 hours or until a knife is easily inserted and the internal temperature near the bone is 185°F.

Placing a roasting pan with a seasoned bone-in pork shoulder roast into an open oven.

Make the peach barbecue sauce

While the pork is roasting in the oven, mix together the jam, coconut aminos, and fish sauce in a small measuring cup or bowl. Measure out and reserve 3 tablespoons of the glaze to brush on the pork at the very end.

An overhead shot of a measuring cup filled with a peach jam glaze that is being stirred with a yellow silicone spatula.

Brush on the peach barbecue sauce

When the pork reaches 185°F, brush the top and sides of the roast with the peach jam sauce.

A silicone brush is adding a peach jam glaze onto a golden brown pork shoulder roast in the oven.

Continue roasting the pork for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the final temperature is about 195°F. A fork or knife inserted into the roast should slide in easily.

An overhead shot of a slow roasted pork shoulder roast right out of the oven.

Remove the pork shoulder roast from the oven and brush on the reserved 3 tablespoons of sauce. (Remember? I told you to save some for this step!)

An Asian woman is brushing peach jam glaze on a cooked pork shoulder roast.

Rest the pork roast

Next, tent the roast with foil and rest it for about 1 hour so the meat can relax and the juices can redistribute. (Don’t worry—the roast will stay plenty hot during that time. You won’t be serving your guests cold pulled pork.)

An Asian woman in glasses is placing a large piece of aluminum foil on top of the slow roasted pork shoulder.

Slice up the pork with a knife or shred it apart with two forks and enjoy!

Closeup of two forks shredding a cooked pork shoulder roast.

How to save leftovers

Before you pack up the leftovers for storage, discard the bone. The remaining boneless pork shoulder meat can be stored in a sealed storage container for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.

What can you do with leftover pork shoulder roast?

So many things! Slow roasted pork shoulder is the ultimate emergency protein; you can add it to soups, salads, fried cauliflower rice, stir-fries—you name it! You can also grab some grain-free tortillas and eat the shredded pork with salsa and guacamole for Taco Tuesday!


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).


PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Easy Pork Shoulder Roast with Peach Glaze

4.76 from 33 votes
Prep Time12 hours
Cook Time7 hours
Total Time19 hours
Servings 10
This six-ingredient pork shoulder roast is juicy, fork-tender, and burnished with a sticky and savory peach barbecue glaze! It’s the perfect, low effort main dish that serves a crowd and it just so happens to be paleo, gluten-free, and Whole30 compatible!

Ingredients 
 

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Instructions 

  • Using a sharp knife, carefully score the fat cap in a 1-inch crosshatch pattern, making sure you don’t cut into the meat.
  • Sprinkle the salt all over the pork roast. Cover the roast with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator for 12 to 48 hours to dry-brine.
  • When you are ready to slow roast the pork, heat the oven to 325°F with the oven rack in the lowest position. While the oven is heating up, add freshly cracked black pepper all over the pork shoulder roast.
  • Grab a roasting pan and rack and spray the rack with avocado oil spray or brush on some avocado oil. Place the pork shoulder roast, fat-side up, on the rack.
  • Pour 3 cups of water into the roasting pan, or enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer. The water will keep the drippings from burning and smoking during the long roast.
  • Roast the pork in the oven for 5 to 6 hours or until a knife is easily inserted and the internal temperature near the bone is 185°F.
  • While the pork is roasting in the oven, mix together the jam, coconut aminos, and fish sauce in a small measuring cup or bowl. Measure out and reserve 3 tablespoons of the glaze to brush on the pork at the very end (step 10).
  • When the pork reaches 185°F, brush the top and sides of the roast with the peach jam sauce.
  • Continue roasting the pork for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the final temperature is about 195°F. A fork or knife inserted into the roast should slide in easily.
  • Remove the pork shoulder roast from the oven and brush on the reserved 3 tablespoons of sauce. (Remember? I told you to save some for this step!)
  • Next, tent the roast with foil and rest it for about 1 hour so the meat can relax and the juices can redistribute. (Don’t worry—the roast will stay plenty hot during that time. You won’t be serving your guests cold pulled pork.)
  • Slice up the pork with a knife or shred it apart with two forks and enjoy!

Video

Notes

  • Before you pack up the leftovers for storage, discard the bone. The remaining boneless pork shoulder meat can be stored in a sealed storage container for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
  • Slow roasted pork shoulder is the ultimate emergency protein; you can add it to soups, salads, stir-fries—you name it! You can also grab some grain-free tortillas and eat the shredded pork with salsa and guacamole for Taco Tuesday!

Nutrition

Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 16g | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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47 Comments

  1. It sounds really delicious. But how can it be paleo with peach jam in the recipe? What brand do you yse?

  2. 5 stars
    Lovely recipe! I did use orange marmalade in lieu of peach just because I had that on hand. The glaze helped create a char on the edges, which is my favorite! Thank you for this amazing recipe! Will make again with peach next time!

  3. 5 stars
    Absolutely delish! I used a 3 lb pork shoulder and orange marmalade, because that is what I had on hand. So yummy even my picky son went back for seconds. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

  4. 5 stars
    Made this last night and it is the best roast/pulled pork I’ve made. I realized the key step is letting this get to 195 degrees so it is truly tender all the way through. Never used a thermometer before, just a fork or knife to test doneness, game changer! And the glaze is delicious. Thanks so much, Michelle!