Name: Old-Fashioned Roast Pork
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: 1 boneless pork shoulder roast (Boston butt, about 6 pounds); 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 teaspoons ground black pepper; 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaf; 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, roughly chopped; 2 large red onions, cut into 1-inch wedges; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (if necessary); 1 cup apple cider; 1/4 cup apple jelly; 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Why This Recipe Works

For our Old-Fashioned Roast Pork recipe, we skipped lean loins and opted for deep-flavored and inexpensive pork shoulder or Boston butt, which we flavored with a classic roast pork spice rub. Cooking the roast in a low oven for seven hours rendered the fat and softened our roast pork’s tough connective tissue. And for easy slicing, we refrigerated the cooked roast overnight until firm.

Before You Begin

A heavy, deep-sided (3-inch) roasting pan is the best choice for this recipe, but a shallow broiler pan also works well.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Trim outer fat from pork, leaving 1/8-inch-thick layer. Combine garlic, pepper, salt, rosemary, sage, and fennel seeds in small bowl. Tie pork roast tightly into uniform shape. Rub with herb mixture.

Transfer to roasting pan and cook 3 hours. Scatter onion wedges around meat, tossing onions in pan drippings to coat. (If roast has not produced any juices, toss onions with oil.) Continue roasting until meat is extremely tender and skewer inserted into center meets no resistance, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (Check pan juices every hour to make sure they have not evaporated. If necessary, add 2 cups water to pan and stir browned bits into water.)

Transfer roast to large baking dish, place onions in medium bowl, and pour pan drippings into liquid measuring cup, adding enough water to measure 1 1/2 cups. Allow all to cool 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

One hour before serving, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut cold meat into 1/4-inch slices and overlap in large baking dish. Spoon fat layer off drippings (discard fat) and transfer drippings and reserved onions to medium saucepan. Add cider, jelly, and vinegar and bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to simmer. Spoon 1/2 cup simmering sauce over pork slices and cover baking dish with foil. Place in oven and heat until very hot, 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, continue reducing sauce until dark and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes (reheat mixture just before serving pork). Serve pork, spooning onion mixture over meat or passing at table.