Boston Butt Pork Roast: the easy recipe for a delicious pork roast

When the holiday season rolls around and you're entertaining guests, it's always a fantastic opportunity to break out your best recipes. Boston butt pork roast is perfect for special occasions and holidays. It's an elegant dish that's great for feeding a crowd and is a cheaper but equally flavorful alternative to prime rib. Roast pork butt is tender, juicy, and incredibly simple to make. All you need is a handful of ingredients like oil, rosemary, and garlic to make a marinade, plus a good few hours to let the pork slow cook in the oven. It's a mouthwatering meal that will impress guests without the hassle of having to stand over a stovetop for hours on end. Just pop the pork in the oven and let it gently sizzle away until it's cooked to perfection.

What is Boston Butt Pork Roast?

Boston butt is another name for pork shoulder. The “butt” in the name comes from the type of barrels pork was stored in, which were a specialty of New England during the American Revolution. Pork shoulder is fattier than tenderloin, which gives it a richer flavor and helps make it tender and juicy.

How to Make Boston Butt Pork Roast

Making roast pork butt is absurdly easy. Whisk olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl then rub it into the meat, then make a few deep cuts into the pork and push them into the slits. This will help flavor the pork from the inside out. Pop the pork into the fridge to marinate for a few hours up to overnight. When you're ready to get cooking, take the pork butt out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450°F. Place the pork on a rack set over a baking dish – this will catch all those delicious drippings which you can serve with the pork or make into a gravy. Cook the meat for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 250°F and slow roast it for another 6 to 8 hours or until the thickest part of the pork shoulder reads 180°F on an instant meat thermometer. Crank the oven back up to 450°F and cook the pork for another 15 minutes to brown it up. All that's left is to take it out of the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Tips for the Best Roast Pork Butt

– The longer you marinate the meat, the more flavorful it will be. You can marinate it for up to 24 hours.

– Let the pork come up to room temperature before roasting.

– You can use other fresh herbs to season your roast. Thyme, oregano, basil, and sage or a mix of fresh herbs make amazing additions to any marinade.

– Cook the pork with the fat cap on the top. This will help keep it juicy and tender. If the fat cap is quite thick, trim it down.

– You can make this recipe even easier by cooking your pork roast in a slow cooker. Cook it for 7 to 8 hours on low.

What to Serve with Roast Pork Butt

Green salads, roasted vegetables such as roasted broccoli, mashed potatoes, or a serving of pasta salad are great side dishes to serve with your roast pork butt. You'll definitely want some fresh bread to help mop up the jus as you go along as well!

How to Store Boston Butt Pork Roast

Wrap leftovers in foil and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Cooked Boston butt pork roast can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Instructions

Put the pork on a roasting rack. Put the rack in a baking dish.

Whisk olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl to combine. Rub the mixture into each side of the pork.

Cut slits into the pork. Place the whole garlic cloves into the slits. Cover and refrigerate the roast for at least 4 hours up to overnight.

Remove the roast from the fridge to come up to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Cook the roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250°F and cook for 6 to 8 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 180°F.

Turn the heat up to 450°F and cook for 15 minutes to brown the meat. Remove from the oven and rest the meat for 20 minutes before cutting and serving.