Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder - Nom Nom Paleo®

Forget Febreeze – the best way to make your house smell awesome is to stick a seasoned pork roast in a low temperature oven and slowly cook that sucker over 8-10 hours. My kids were panting like little puppies at the oven window all day waiting for the roast to come out.

I originally learned about this technique from Michael Chiarello’s recipe for Forever Roasted Pork. I simplified the recipe by using Chili Con Carne seasoning as my rub but any dry rub will work. Try to use the best pastured pork you can find and make sure your roast has the skin PLUS a thick layer of fat. If you’ve got a nice fatty cut, the long roasting time will make the meat meltingly tender and moist. However, if you’re stuck with a lean conventional pork roast, you’re out of luck and should just skip this recipe. (You can still salvage your roast by braising it in the oven or slow cooker.)

Here’s what I gathered to serve 4-6 people:

4 pound bone-in, skin on pork shoulder roast
Chili Con Carne seasoning (or your favorite dry rub)
Kosher salt
4 large celery stalks, cut in half
3 large carrots, peeled
1 large onion, peeled and cut in half

Here’s how I made it:

The night before I roasted the pork, I scored the skin with a sharp paring knife in a cross-hatch pattern. Then, I seasoned the whole roast LIBERALLY with salt and Chili Con Carne seasoning.

I placed the roast in the fridge to marinate overnight (12-24 hours).

The next morning, I preheated the oven to 275 F and took the roast out of the fridge.

I covered a baking tray with heavy-duty aluminum foil and placed the vegetables on top of it to make a rack for the roast. I lay the roast on top of the vegetables and then let the roast sit on the counter for over an hour to bring the pork up to room temperature.

I placed the roast into the oven and let it slowly roast for 8-10 hours until the meat was fork-tender. I discarded the vegetables and transferred the roast to a platter to rest for 30 minutes.