Crispy Pineapple Pork Shoulder

This is one of my favorite recipes for both parties and for prepping food for the week. Most of the cooking is hands-off, the recipe is dead simple, and you prepare the sauce along with the main dish. The skin ends up perfectly crisp, while the meat stays tender and juicy. And if you end up just making it for dinner, the leftovers are perfect for revisiting and reinventing throughout the week.

And be sure to check out the variants below for seasonal fruit ideas, leftover inspiration, and more!

Author

Christian Leue

Servings

Makes one roast

Category

Dinner

Ingredients

• Neutral oil
• One 6-8 pound bone-in skin-on pork shoulder (ask your butcher if your grocery store doesn't offer this normally)
• Salt
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1 inch rings
• 1 tablespoon Shabazi N.38 blend
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• Brown sugar, to taste (this will depend on the sweetness of the pineapple, figure 1-4 teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• One 13 x 18" sheet pan with wire rack
• Aluminum foil (the 18" wide heavy duty style is easiest)
• Saucepot
• Ice chest (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 200°F. 
2. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of your baking pan to catch any drips, place the wire rack on top of this and grease it lightly with an oiled paper towel.
3. Score the shoulder with a sharp knife or scalpel in a diamond pattern, cutting through the skin but not all the way through the fat into the meat (this step is the key to this recipe, without scoring the skin the crisping process takes too long; the skin burns before it gets nicely crisp). Rub the roast all over with a light coating of salt and then place it skin side up on the center of the rack. Place the pineapple slices on foil sheets (a few slices in each packet, however many you can fit), sprinkle with Shabazi N.38, and wrap them tightly. Arrange these foil packets around the pork shoulder.
4. Cook for about 8-9 hours (so you can either start it in the morning, or cook it overnight and then hold until dinnertime). To hold, allow the roast to cool until you can handle it, then wrap in foil and place the foil wrapped roast in a small ice chest and wait until the evening. It will easily hold for 5-6 hours.
5. Drain the fat from the aluminum foil (discarding or reserving for another use), then tear the dripping coated foil into small pieces and place in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and scrape the foil gently to dissolve all of the pan drippings and make a thin broth, then remove and discard the foil. Carefully unwrap the pineapple, adding the juices to the pot, and slice the rings into small pieces. Reduce the broth by 1/3 then add the chopped pineapple to the pot along with cider vinegar, dark rum, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Hold until you are ready to serve the roast. If you're serving the roast later you can chill the sauce and reheat.
6. To finish: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Place a fresh sheet of aluminum foil on your baking sheet and the rack on top of that (clean the rack first if it's particularly dirty). Place the roast skin side up in the center of the rack and cook until the skin is puffy and crispy (generally 20-25 minutes depending on your oven's actual temperature). Check frequently to make sure the skin does not burn (a spot or two is fine). Warm the sauce and remove the roast to a cutting board.
7. Serve with the roasted pineapple sauce on the side and make sure to eat the skin first while it is still crisp and airy. All you need is a fork to pull the meat apart, it'll be that tender. The meat is great in lettuce cups or in warm flour tortillas (if you want to use everything try using the reserved fat from roasting to make your tortillas).