Notes

6/18/20:

Brined, added fennel seeds, fronds and lemon zest to rub. 200 ºF until 180 ºF internal temp then let rest for 15 min - heat oven to to 500 ºF and roast for 5 min and let cool for another 15 min.

Pan sauce:

When the pork's finished, drain off and discard the excess fat and deglaze the rimmed baking sheet by heating it over a single burner and adding two cups of white wine, chicken stock, or a combination of both. Scrape up browned bits, transfer to a small saucepan, season to taste, and whisk in two tablespoons butter off heat.

From comments:

I gave this 5 stars, but with one caveat, use this on a 3-3.5lb pork shoulder instead of a 7lb one. I didn't read ahead that the recipe was for a 7lb pork shoulder, so I didn't half the recipe (just the time that I cooked it for). It came out perfectly done, and seasoned. I feel like if I used this on a 7lb pork shoulder that it would come out way under seasoned. For 3.5lb I cooked it on 200 degrees for 6 hours, and it came out with that perfect "pulled pork" consistency.

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Temperature:

160F sufficient... 180F target when remove from oven and let rest until 190F.

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons mixed finely chopped robust herbs (like thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley)
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup, plus 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
  • A 7-pound pork shoulder, skin on, boned
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 1 lemon zest
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • Fennel fronds
  • Rosemary applesauce
  • Crusty bread rolls, for serving