24-Hour Roast Pork

This recipe is adapted from one by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, published in his The River Cottage Meat Book. This book is one of my favorites in my food library, as it serves up equal portions of food philosophy and great recipes. A must for carnivores. Here’s a sample: “There is no doubt that Western society is very confused about death—both human and animal death. Human death as dramatic entertainment in movies and on television has, like animal-on-animal predation, never been more familiar. Yet the human act of killing animals for food, once familiar to most of society, has now become so shameful that those who condone it—by eating meat every day—are entirely protected from thinking about it.”

Mr. Fearnley-Whittingstall admits in the recipe mine is adapted from that he too is adapting it from others who have recently made it popular among certain meat roasters. The idea is a simple, familiar technique for roasting meat: a short high-temperature roast, followed by a long, low-temperature roast. However, in this case, the long roast is VERY long. Like, a day. You’ll never have pork more tender, succulent, or delicious, I promise you.

24-Hour Roast Pork
serves 8

1 pork shoulder roast (about 6-8 pounds)
10 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
leaves from 10 rosemary sprigs, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

Preheat oven to 450º. Slash the fat cap on the shoulder every inch or so to a depth of a half an inch. Combine all rub ingredients. Place shoulder on rack in roasting pan, fat side down. Spread half of rub on non-fat side. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 225º. Remove roast from oven, flip, and spread remaining rub on fat side. Return to oven. Roast until perfect, 20-24 hours. Let sit for 30 minutes before carving. A butter knife will do.

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