Matilda, Maple & Garlic Pork Shoulder with Crispy Skin
And all that work? It definitely pays off.
Maple syrup, olive oil, and beer up top, plus garlic, black pepper, fennel, and cayenne.
Using her sharpest knife, Amanda starts to score the skin of the pork shoulder.
Merill peels garlic while Amanda slices away.
One more beauty shot of the scored skin.
After a brief toasting, fennel seeds get crushed with a mortar and pestle.
No need to clean the mortar, just add the garlic on in!
It's always so cool to feel garlic becoming a paste under your hands when crushed with salt.
There it goes!
Amanda happily pours olive oil as Merrill keeps at it with the pestle.
The marinade gets finished off with cayenne, pepper, and the crushed fennel.
Now for the big moment: slathering the marinade all over the (skin-side down) shoulder.
Amanda spreads the marinade while Merrill empties the rest into a container along with maple syrup and malt vinegar.
Thirty minutes into its 18-hour cooking time, the roast is looking pret-ty good!
Slathered with the maple-fennel marinade, it looks even better.
Over the next several hours, we poured beer over the shoulder and basted it with its pan juices.
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Author Notes: My grandmother (yes, I'm mentioning my grandmother again) used to cook her ever-present, giant ham by sticking it in the oven and pouring ginger ale over it every once in a while, as if it had won the Super Bowl. I decided to use a bottle of Matilda beer, a lovely fruity malty ale made here in Chicago, by Goose Island, with maple syrup for some extra sweetness. You'll probably have to special order the rind-on cut; I had a hard time getting one in Chicago, aka Meatland. Strange. The ponderously long cooking time was inspired by The River Cottage Meat Book, a book that I find charmingly revolting. - ENunn
Food52 Review: WHO: ENunn is a writer in Chicago.
WHAT: A tender pork shoulder that is the definition of "slow and low" -- it cooks for 18 hours!
HOW: After mixing up the fennel and garlic marinade, the roast goes in the oven and requires little work save some intermittent basting.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Whether you love crispy skin or falling-apart meat, this showstopper has something for everybody. - A&M
Serves 4-6-8
- 6-8 pounds bone-in, skin on pork shoulder
- 3 tablespoons fennel seeds, toasted, crushed
- 14 pieces garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cups grade b maple syrup
- 1 big bottle of Matilda, or another malty fruity ale
- 2 teaspoons malt vinegar
- After allowing the meat to come to room temperature, use a sharp knife to score the skin, making 1/2 inch stripes over entire surface. Preheat oven to 450. Toast fennel seeds in a skillet over medium heat, until fragrant (3 minutes); crush using mortar and pestle, set aside. Place garlic and salt in empty mortar mortar and grind together to make a paste. Slowly add olive oil, then sprinkle in cayenne, black pepper, fennel.
- Rub about 1/3 of the paste over the skinless side of the meat, then place skin side down on a roasting pan in lower third of oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile stir the syrup and vinegar into the remaining paste.
- Turn the oven down to 225. Carefully flip the shoulder (use a clean towel), then use a rubber spatula to spread the remaining paste over the shoulder, pushing it into the scored skin.
- Return to oven and cook for 18 hours or longer (you can put it in the oven at bedtime and leave it in until you serve it as an early supper the next day, which is what I did; I just turned it all the way down to 150 for a couple of hours late in the afternoon), pouring 1/3 of the bottle of beer over it at several intervals, and basting with the drippings 2-3 times. Seriously. Before serving, turn up the heat to 450 for ten minutes if the skin is not crispy enough. Put it on a platter, and let people pull off pieces, like wild animals. They will fight over the skin.
- Serve with my Fresh Fennel and Red Pepper Chow-Chow (under "condiments"), and mashed sweet potatoes with apples. Leftover pork, Chow-Chow, and spicy mayo sandwich on ciabatta: very good idea.
- Your Best Maple Recipe Contest Winner!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Roasted Pork Shoulder
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19 days ago Tamesha
Would someone be able to give me a good beef selection instead of using the pork shoulder?
20 days ago lpcooks
Is there any way to do this ahead of time and then finish at night?
about 1 month ago Michelle Anilao
i really want to do this but I was wondering if you could do it in a slow cooker?
about 1 month ago ENunn
No. Definitely not. You can leave your oven on overnight at such low heat without worrying about burning down your house.
3 months ago Vivi B.
I am so looking forward to making this on Friday/Saturday. I have a big shoulder out defrosting at this moment... I am planning to serve it with aoili, roasted peppers and arugula on hot chewy buns. And with some more traditional sides as well, given its bbq roots. Thanks for all the tips. Super helpful.
3 months ago Urban Dubois
I made this last weekend and it was amazing! I liked the suggestion of the roasted fennel and apples. I was sort of at a loss about the sides but will know next time. I actually mixed up the first step and started it skin side up which really had little effect on the final dish. This really produces a confit of sorts. I suppose if it were shredded and stored in the fat that cooks out it could be served like rillettes on toast points. Thanks for this recipe; it's a winner!
5 months ago Gracediets
I made this and served it with rolls and au jus from the roasting pan. This was so good. Best pork of any kind I have ever eaten.
5 months ago iron_cho
My boyfriend and I made this for family over the holidays--phenomenal, and so easy to make! We had started an 8.5 lb shoulder in a large Dutch oven, and realized 8hrs later that it was supposed to be in a roasting pan. Transferred pans without a problem and later made a pan gravy for the mash.
Even though we couldn't find the cut with skin-on, we're pretty sure we can order it for next time, with some advance notice. We live in Chicago and were able to find a beautiful shoulder on hand at our small local Mexican grocery/butcher store. Great quality, fresh, and only $2 /lb!
We served the pork with the parsnip & potato mash from this site (we used some homemade goose & duck broth in the mash which gave it a supremely rich taste), and also made an apple & kale slaw, which was a perfect accompaniment to the pork.
We're already planning to make this again for a large get-together next month. Thanks for the terrific recipe--it's our new fave!
6 months ago Michelle Meeks
I made this last week, however, I could NOT find a bone-in, pork shoulder with the skin on. I ended up using a fresh ham from Whole Foods. It was great, but I would still like to try it with the correct cut of meat. Any suggestions on where I can find such a cut?
8 months ago Polly Crawford
I had this recipe for a few months. Finally made it this weekend. I didn't know if I was to cook it covered or uncovered. I left it covered overnight and realized it wasn't going to get crispy unless it was uncovered. I was amazed at the amount of juices there was in the pan for basting. My husband made garlic mashed potatoes and a phenomenal gravy with the drippings! WOW! Our company thoroughly enjoyed it! Can't wait to make it again!
8 months ago Polly Crawford
I had this recipe for a few months. Finally made it this weekend. I didn't know if I was to cook it covered or uncovered. I left it covered overnight and realized it wasn't going to get crispy unless it was uncovered. I was amazed at the amount of juices there was in the pan for basting. My husband made garlic mashed potatoes and a phenomenal gravy with the drippings! WOW! Our company thoroughly enjoyed it! Can't wait to make it again!
8 months ago Kelly D
OK, so how do you know when its DONE? I put a smaller shoulder (approx 4 lbs) in the oven last night around 9pm, and we plan to eat around 6pm tonight; compensating for the smaller roast and 21 hrs., I cooked it overnight only at 170 deg, and only turned it up to 225 this morning around 6am, but I don't want this amazing smelling baby to OVERcook! Should I turn it off for a few hours and then turn back on? Or should I turn down the temp? [And I also learned that we have one of those ovens that turns off after 12 hours - who knew? Luckily I caught it pretty quickly!]
8 months ago Susige
It should cook to an internal temperature of 160 - which to me means pull it out at about 145-150 as it will continue to cook as it rests. I had the same issue with trying to hold it until dinner tonight so mine cooked overnight in the oven at 215 and I will leave it there until around noon and see where the temperature is. Hope that helps!
8 months ago Susige
Kelly, I too started wondering as I've never cooked one of these before. Evidently it's not like a regular roast. I asked on the Hotline, here's the link and the answers I'm receiving. Let me know how yours turns out!
http://www.food52.com/hotline...
8 months ago Kelly D
Thanks so much Susige! My husband - who is working from home - already pulled it (around noon) b/c it had reached 160 degrees, but based on the answers to your Hotline question maybe now I'll have him put it back in the oven around 4pm ... it smelled SO good before I left for work - can't wait for dinner!
8 months ago Susige
If he put it in the fridge, make sure he pulls it out an hour or so before so come back to room temp. And I'd probably kick the oven up to 275 too since it seems to need to reach 180-185 to really get tender.
8 months ago Kelly D
So I just have to report back on how absolutely fantastic this turned out. Having reached 160 by noon we took out of oven between 12-4, and put back in around 4pm - which worked perfect for dinner a couple hours later! It was divine!
8 months ago Susige
First steps done, nine pound bone in, skin on shoulder in the hot oven roasting for 30 minutes.... seasonings with vinegar and maple syrup mixed and sitting ready to plop on the skin after I turn it over and then put it to bed for the night. I have high anticipations to see what awaits me tomorrow morning upon my arising - that is if I can sleep through the aromas that I know will be sneaking up the stairs tonight!
8 months ago Susige
What a beautiful site to behold and smells to inhale this morning! My little pretty has been slow cooking at 215 for 12 hours and is already at an internal temperature of 142. Since we aren't eating until after 7:00 tonight, I've turned the oven down to 170 (the lowest mine will go) hoping it will slow down the cooking time. I may have to turn it off sooner than I thought but that's okay, it'll all work out - I can't wait for dinner tonight with our friends!
9 months ago NakedBeet
This recipe looks lovely, but with a toddler in the house, I'm too paranoid to leave the oven on for this length of time, especially, asleep! Can you suggest an alternate cooking time and temperature?
10 months ago Canuck
i live in canada but we don't have matilda here. can you suggest a substitute?
4 months ago FrancineL
I'm from Canada as well and what comes to mind is "Kronenbourg 1664" which you can easily find at any good liquor store. Hope it helps
about 1 year ago Riverdogs
I also learned my oven has an automatic shut off, after 12 hours. The oven shut down at 4:30 AM. I fired it back up at 8:30 AM. I'll serve the roast later today, adding a few hours at 220 degrees, and of course finish it at 450, per the recipe. I think it will be OK.
about 1 year ago Michelle Arianne
ENunn, I just made this -- it's delicious!!! One thing, I fell asleep last night and totally forgot about getting this baby in the oven. So I woke up at 5AM (unheard of!) thinking about. Got it in the oven at 6 AM, turned the temperature to 275 (trying to compensate for the late start) until noon, then turned it down to 200 and it was perfectly ready in time for dinner. Also, I do live in Chicago so Matilda is plenty available. But I did find Matilda at World Market so I'm guessing that they may carry it in other markets too.
about 1 year ago ENunn
Way to go, Michelle! Make sure you try it the loooooong way, too. What did you serve it with? Matilda is such a special beer. It's should be available worldwide.
I'm so glad you liked the dish, and thank you for saying so. How is Chicago? I hear it's still a bit Chicachilly. It's beautiful here in Charleston, but I do miss seeing that lake.
about 1 year ago Michelle Arianne
Hi E - Since it was a weekday, I just made roasted cauliflower with it (trying to feed us all healthier stuff). I think it would taste great with any mashed veggies -- maybe mashed celery root/potato combo? There were plenty of leftovers for sandwiches and tacos! The next time we're having friends over I'm making this for a taco party in which case I will be trying the looooong way. I like to keep things easy since we all have young kids, but I want to serve GOOD also!
Matilda is awesome and I just saw it at Whole Foods today. Chicago is chilly - our Sunday t-ball game was glove-worthy weather! Charleston is lovely.
about 1 year ago minosmama
we had this for dinner last night. it was incredible!!!
about 1 year ago ENunn
Delia, that makes me so happy! It thrills me. Don't forget to make sandwiches.
about 1 year ago negramodelo
Thank you. I will let you know.
about 1 year ago negramodelo
I'm going to make this tonight. I'm wondering whether the shoulder needs to be covered when it goes into the oven.
Thank you
about 1 year ago ENunn
No! Let me know what you think about it.
about 1 year ago lakelurelady
Congratulations ENunn. This is a keeper. It looks so succulent.
about 1 year ago ENunn
I hope you'll let me know if you try it. I'm so happy with this win.