This recipe is a happy accident; I meant to bring you a pork loin roast today, but I confused my wife* by asking for a "blade end" pork loin roast; she brought home a blade shoulder roast instead.
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*If you're looking for a rotisserie pork loin recipe, click here.
Pork shoulder (often called "boston butt", or in this case " blade shoulder") is my favorite cut from the pig, so I wasn't very upset about this mistake. Pork shoulder, unlike the very lean pork loin, has a lot of fat in it. This helps it cook up nice and juicy, even when you cook it well done. And you must cook it to well done - there's a lot of connective tissue in there with the fat. If you don't cook it enough, that connective tissue makes this a very tough cut of meat. But...if you get the connective tissue to melt (by cooking to AT LEAST 180*F), the result is tender, melt in your mouth porky goodness.
The rotisserie adds a crispiness to the outside of the roast that...well, Diane put it best while we were eating:
"Oh, my. This is soooooo good. It's like bacon on the outside, and juicy on the inside."
Recipe: Rotisserie Pork Shoulder Roast
Equipment
- Grill with Rotisserie attachment (I use a Weber Summit with an infrared rotisserie burner. Here is the current version of my grill.)
- Aluminum foil drip pan (9“x13”, or whatever fits your grill. I use an enameled steel roasting pan.)
- Butchers twine
- Instant Read Thermometer
Rotisserie Pork Shoulder Roast
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 1x
Description
Rotisserie Pork Shouder, brined, then spit-roast on the rotisserie. Crispy on the outside, tender and shreddable on the inside.
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder Roast, trimmed of any excess fat
Brine
- 3 quarts water
- ¾ cup table salt (1.5 cups kosher salt)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Rub
- 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest or dried lemon peel
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Brine the pork: In a large container, stir the salt and sugar into the water until dissolved. Add the pork and refrigerate for 3-8 hours.
- Prepare and rest the roast: One hour before cooking, mix the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Remove the pork from the brine, and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the rub evenly over the entire roast, working it into any nooks, crannies, and seams you can find. Truss the roast with butcher's twine, tying it every inch and a half into a tight cylinder shape. Skewer the roast on the spit through the center of the roast, then let it rest at room temperature.
- Set up the grill for indirect medium-low heat (300°F) - Gas Grill: Set your grill up for rotisserie cooking at medium-low heat (300°F).For my Weber Summit gas grill I remove the grill grates and put the drip pan on the burner covers in the middle of the grill. Then I turn burners 1 and 6 to high, turn the smoker burner to high, and let the grill preheat for 10 minutes. Once the grill is going, I adjust the burners to keep the temperature between 250°F and 300°F. (I had to turn burners 1 to 6 down to medium to get the temperature down to 300°F.)
- OR: Set up the grill for indirect medium-low heat (300°F) - charcoal grill: For my Weber Kettle charcoal grill I light 40 coals (⅓ of a Weber charcoal chimney, or one full Weber charcoal basket), wait for them to be mostly covered with gray ash, then pile the coals in charcoal baskets on both sides of the charcoal grate. (The charcoal baskets hold the coals in a tight pile.) Finally, I put a drip pan on the charcoal grate between the coals, then put the grill grate back on the grill. To keep the heat going, I add 14 unlit charcoal briquettes to the charcoal baskets every hour.
- Rotisserie the roast to 185°F: Put the spit on the rotisserie, and cook with the lid closed. Cook the pork roast until it reaches 185°F to 190°F in the thickest part of the meat, about 3 to 4 hours. (I recommend cooking to temperature using an instant read thermometer, because the time will vary depending on conditions and the thickness of the roast.) If you are using an infrared rotisserie burner, turn it off after the roast is browning nicely, about 45 minutes, and let the burners in the body of the grill finish the cooking.
- Rest, carve and serve: Remove the spit from the grill and cut the twine away from the roast. Rest the roast for 15 minutes, then slice into ½" thick slices. Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Rotisserie
- Cuisine: American
Notes
- Sometimes, boneless pork shoulder roasts are hard to find at my local grocery. That's no big deal; I cut the bone out before cooking. It gives me more nooks and crannies to get the rub into before I truss it up.
- Again, this is not the time to go for medium-rare, slightly pink pork. The connective tissue in the shoulder will make it jaw-achingly tough. Cook it to well done and beyond. In fact, you'd have a hard time overcooking this roast. If you have any questions about "is it done?" you should err on the side of cooking it more.
Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related posts
Rotisserie Pork Shoulder, Char Siu style
Rotisserie Boneless Pork Loin Roasts, Brined, Rubbed and Maple Syrup Glazed
My other rotisserie recipes.
Inspired by
Steven Raichlen's The Barbecue! Bible
Check out my cookbook, Rotisserie Grilling. |
Everything you could ask about the rotisserie,
plus 50 (mostly) new recipes to get you cooking.
It's a Kindle e-book, so you can download it and start reading immediately!
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Frederick Squires
This was awesome! I made some small changes but overall... The Best! I used Adobo & Sazon Seasoning, Pork Rub, Garlic Powder and Italian Seasoning after the salt brine and pat dry.
Amanda
Would this work on a picnic roast smoked?
Mike V
I don't think you want to use a smoked picnic roast with this - it's already cooked. I would cook it like a ham instead:
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2013/03/rotisserie-ham-with-orange-and-honey-glaze.html/
KC
Just found your site and am loving your recipes.. SQL you indicate at the beginning that you should prepare the BBQ at medium heat at 350, but hen in your comments you estimate you are at 450 give or take 50... should I be keeping closer to 450 or 350? Thanks
Mike V
350°F is what you want - I updated the recipe after that comment was posted.
KC
Fricken Awesome!!.. but I did end up at the 450 range on a 2.5 pound roast.. took just about 1 hour.. I ended up with the skin a bit burned from the infrared... I need to check that better next time. But it was the best piece of pork I have had in a very long time.. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes, Thanks!
L Fowler
Loved it more then once, only thing we do different is two bottles of Sam Adams in brine.
Mike V
A little beer never hurts.
Jenn
do you have to rinse the brine off after brining? And also does it matter what kind of grill you have for tempeture is it high heat for any gas grill? Making today was not sure.
Mike V
No, you do not have to rinse the brine off. High heat is 450*F or higher.
Jackie
I'd like to fix a 3 1/2 lb. butt on my indoor rotisserie but can't find any info. Do you think your method would work on a Set It & Forget It table top style rotisserie? This is going to be a company meal, so it has to be right! Thanks 🙂
Mike V
I've never used a tabletop rotisserie, but I've been told by a bunch of people that my recipes work with them. So, yes, I think it will work fine.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
With bigger roasts like this one:
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2013/08/rotisserie-pork-shoulder-with-south.html
then it's a great idea; if the roast is cooking on Medium or lower for most of the cooking time, a blast of heat from the IR is a great finishing touch. (That is, if the roast looks like it needs it - sometimes they're pretty crispy from the long cooking time in the grill, even without the IR burner.)
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
With a small (3 to 4 pound, kind of thin) roast like this one, I run the IR burner for the entire cooking time, to make sure the crust is extra crispy. (See step 3).
John Mooney
Great recipe and with those potatoes is something of beauty. I've got the Summit 420, I've been reading that some people use the infra-red for the last 20 minutes to make the skin extra crispy, what's your thoughts on that?
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Pork shoulder will reheat well - it has enough fat in it so it won't dry out too much.
Good luck!
Andrea
I am cooking next month for a church dinner (~100 people) and wonder if it is possible to do this pork shoulder roast recipe the day before, slice it, refrigerate it and then reheat it for dinner the next day (like brisket). Is this a really bad idea or is it doable? I hate dry pork...
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
You're welcome - good luck!
mccowdog@gmail.com
I'm going to to the same roast this afternoon ( 9 lbs ), can't wait to dig in...Thanks for the info...
Don Kowal
Dear Michael, We are having Mandy, Bryan and your two grandnephews here for dinner and we got a pork shoulder. I just googled it and voila hit gold. One variation is that I'm also using a smoke box with big hunks of wood and some rosemary (we have a giant bush). I too love to barbeque and but Bryan Mandy's husband is a real(!) cook like you.
Best to you and your family.
Don
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
You're right, watch out for enhanced pork. (Though I can't find enhanced pork shoulder at my local grocery stores - they all sell natural pork for the shoulder, and "enhance" the loins and tenderloins.)