Okay - let's start with this. This recipe is delicious. Period. I'm not sure why I wasn't super confident in this from the beginning, but all fears were averted upon sneaking tastes right out of the oven. Dreamy bits of fat atop lacquered meat - some really amazing bites here. Our pork all has a nice fat cap on it. Don't you dare cut that fat off for this - it MAKES it.
The whole recipe is easy and mostly hands-off. It does need to brine for at least 12 hours. Rub the salt and sugar mix in and stick it in the fridge.
The original recipe is from America's Test Kitchen. We followed the recipe pretty closely with a few notes. We think a little more red pepper flakes would be nice. And ours cooked faster that the recipe indicated. Also, the recipe says to cover a baking sheet with foil. Ours leaked through the foil (we only had narrow foil so it took 2 sheets) and the baking sheet was a mess. I soaked it and it cleaned up but it required some elbow grease. The recipe below reflects these notes.
Serving this? Honestly, just eat it off the cutting board. But there will be a lot so maybe make a meal or two of it. We had it with mustard greens and corn bread. Other delicious options we will ponder: mac and cheese, apple slaw, squash casserole, etc. Honestly, serve it next to anything you have around.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons kosher salt 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 1 (6- to 7-pound) bone-in pork butt roast with fat cap ½ cup honey 1½ tablespoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes ¼ teaspoon five-spice powder Before you begin The roast must be seasoned at least 12 hours before cooking. We used local Arkansas honey from Sun Harvest.
1. Combine salt and sugar in bowl. Using sharp knife, cut 1-inch crosshatch pattern about ¼ inch deep in fat cap of roast, being careful not to cut into meat. Place roast on 2 large sheets of plastic wrap and rub salt mixture over entire roast and into slits. Wrap roast tightly with plastic. Place on large plate and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
2. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set wire rack in prepared sheet. Unwrap roast and place on rack. Cover sheet tightly with foil. Transfer to oven and cook for 2 hours. Remove foil and continue to cook until meat registers 180 degrees in several places, 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours longer.
3. Combine honey, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper flakes, and five-spice powder in bowl.
Remove roast from oven. Brush top and sides of roast with ¼ cup honey mixture (set aside remainder). Return roast to oven and continue to cook until meat registers 190 degrees and fork slips easily in and out of meat, 30 to 45 minutes longer. Transfer roast to carving board and let rest for 1 hour.
4. Brush pork with 2 tablespoons reserved honey mixture. Using boning or paring knife, cut around inverted T-shaped bone until it can be pulled free and removed from roast. Using serrated knife, slice roast ½ inch thick. Drizzle with remaining honey mixture and serve.
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