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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
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ pound of pork
- Calories: 229
- Sugar: 0.8 g
- Sodium: 438.5 mg
- Fat: 10.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.2 g
- Protein: 29.7 g
- Cholesterol: 101.5 mg
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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Andrea Puck says
I've made this roast many times and I just love it. Quick question: Can I brine this overnight or would that make the pork too salty?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, it would get too salty if it is left in for over 8 hours. What you can do is cut the salt in half, then you can brine it overnight.
Jenifer says
I have the 22” weber kettle. How do I set up?
Mike Vrobel says
Updated with Weber Kettle instructions
Andrea Puck says
Hi Mike, I have made this roast twice and just love, love, love the flavor! I am cooking for a family shelter in a few days and won't have enough time to do full roasts. Do you think this would work with pork tenderloins? If so, what adjustments should I make?
Mike Vrobel says
No, it won't work with pork tenderloins. They're too small, and too lean, to cook on a rotisserie. I would grill them instead: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pork-tenderloin-brined-and-pan-basted-adam-perry-lang-style/
Kevin says
I did this recipe! Wow was it amazing! My only complaint is I did it exactly to the recipe and it was only supposed to take 1.5 hours for the size roast I had, but in reality it took twice that. 3 hours but man was it worth it, I've never had such an awesome pork roast! Thank you! 😊
Mike Vrobel says
I'm glad you enjoyed it! The cooking time is very dependent on the shape of the roast. The ones I got when I was making it were long and thin - a squat, thick roast would take longer. I'm glad you cooked to temperature, and kept cooking it, that's the right thing to do.
Ron Myhr says
I've used the recipe here before and am doing so again today. I'm brining, although I'll admit I don't really find it necessary. Labor Day dinner for 8 later, a simple meal. Baked potatoes and foil cooked carrots fresh from the garden, fresh corn from the farm market nearby. Mmm.
Jose M Vega says
Mike,
I will be making this recipe for our Christmas dinner but I have a question for you. When you say "turn the infrared off after the roast is browning nicely, about 45 minutes, and let the burners in the body of the grill finish the cooking" do you mean the middle burners that were turned off or just cook with the outer burners that you turn on initially? I want to make sure the cook turns out perfect since it will be the first time in 42 years I will cook for my wife for Christmas.
Thanks,
Mike Vrobel says
Just the outer burners. Good luck!
Vern Baugh says
I cooked this roast exactly as written. It was excellent. My barbeque has a gas rotisserie burner. I heated the barbeque using the main burners with the roast in place to get the barbeque to 350. turned on the rotisserie burner and turned off the main burners..... kept it at 350 for the duration. Terrific.…..Vern.
Momchil says
Can't try that on a real BBQ, since I live in an apartment, but works absolitely lovely on an oven rotisserie! The brine and rub does wonders. I highly suggest you try it with a pork neck (or collar, I guess it is called in English) - it is spectacular!
Aaron Friedman says
I really enjoy your rotisserie recipes. The one thing I would suggest is that you include instructions for a kettle grill as well. I don't always remember the amount of charcoal needed to get the requisite amount of heat so I have to scan numerous recipes for the info. Thanks for all of your recipes and tips.
Thommo says
Hi. I'm just wondering what the brine-ing achieves? Thx.
Mike Vrobel says
It seasons the meat all the way through, and makes the roast more juicy, even with the long cooking time.