Leftover pork? Take some slices or pieces and toss them with some oil. Sear them cut-sides down until a nice crispy crust forms. Use them to make some quick tacos, or serve the crispy pork with some fermented veggies or pickles you might have in the fridge and you’re set for the next day’s dinner. Or pull some stock from the freezer and make some ramen. I love me some quality leftovers.–Brad Leone
Roasted Pork Shoulder with Mustard Glaze FAQs
Leaving the bone in adds extra flavor to your roast but it does mean that it’s a little harder to carve around that bone. A boneless roast also takes up a little less space in your roasting pan, so you might prefer that if you don’t have an enormous pan.
Having a layer of fat helps to keep the meat nice and moist as it roasts. So we’d advise you to keep that fat cap on and we’d also advise you to score it, too. Using a sharp knife, score the fat in a crosshatch pattern–just through the fat, not into the meat. This helps the fat to render more effectively and also allows the fat to cook more crisply, making the cracklings even more crackly.
Roasted Pork Shoulder with Mustard Glaze
Ingredients
For the roasted pork shoulder
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, or 7 pounds (3.2 kg) bone-in shoulder
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons shoyu or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, ground
- 1 tablespoon pink peppercorns, ground
- Minced fresh chile (optional, for heat)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 small (1 1/2 lbs) sweet potatoes, peeled if desired, and cut into chunks
- Cloves from 1 head garlic, crushed and peeled
- 2 to 3 (1 lb) bunches of mustard greens, torn (or substitute escarole, spinach, or chard)
To serve (optional)
- 1 lemon, halved
- Za'atar
Instructions
Make the roasted pork shoulder
- Coat the pork shoulder evenly with 2 teaspoons salt. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 24 hours before cooking. (The meat can go 12 hours or up to 28 hours, depending on your schedule.)
- Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C).
- In a small bowl, mix the mustard, mirin, shoyu, ground black and pink peppercorns, and chile. Rub the mixture all over the pork.
- Place the oil, pork, sweet potatoes, and garlic in a large Dutch oven or roasting pan, cover, and place on the middle rack of the oven. Roast for 2 hours. Increase the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C), uncover the roasting pan and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender, and the meat is tender and browned and the internal temperature is at least 145°F (63°C), about 1 hour more.
- Turn the heat up to 425°F (220°C) and blast the meat until it gets nice, crispy, and caramelized, 8 to 12 minutes. Keep an eye on it here as it can burn fast.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven and start to mound the greens over the potatoes and meat. Stuff them everywhere. Let the meat rest for 20 to 60 minutes like this; the heat from the dish will wilt the greens.
- Once rested, slice the meat and place it back over the greens. Season with a little salt if needed.
- If you’re feeling fancy, squeeze some lemon over it all, and sprinkle with za’atar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This roasted pork shoulder with mustard glaze recipe seems fussy and lengthy at first read. Read it again. Those steps all work together to create a one-pan “roasted pork meets ham” meal. What the recipe really involves is about 30 minutes of preparation with hours of unattended time for a finale of pork and veggie with a velvety mustard sauce that rewards you for your perseverance and slow cooking aptitude.
This was my second rendition of this recipe. Neither time was I able to find mustard greens. The first time I used chard. This time I used escarole and spinach. I figured these options would wilt in about the same time as mustard greens. The fresh and slightly bittersweet flavour of the escarole perfumed the sauce and were my favourite. I can already imagine replicating this recipe again with the actual mustard greens for another layer of mustardy interest.
I was concerned about having too salty of a dish so when I realized that the mustard also contained 1/2 teaspoon worth of sodium, I withheld the second tablespoon of shoyu. I’m glad I did as my final flavour was just perfect. The loose sauce was velvety with hints of mustard and a light picante from the birds-eye chili. The wilted greens imparted a hint of freshness to the jus.
This roast sliced like ham. It was tender, yet firm, with fatty edges that were easy to remove and tasty to indulge in. The yams were jammy and a real complement to the pork and greens. No further accoutrements were required but paired beautifully with a glass of Syrah /Carignan blend of Minervois. Vive la moutarde!
The flavor of this roasted pork shoulder with mustard glaze is fantastic. That mustard soy dressing is perfect. Made me want to eat the drippings by the spoonful. I reserved it to serve over leftover veggies and mashed potatoes!
Pork shoulder is a dream to cook and enjoy. And mustard is wonderful with pork, so I knew we’d love this roasted pork shoulder with mustard glaze.
The greens were perfect; they were nicely wilted, but still had texture. I sliced the meat and salted the greens with a large pinch of kosher salt. I served this with jasmine rice topped with ginger-scallion sauce and apple and celery salad, with lemon wedges on the side.
Looks good so far. Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Wayne. It looks incredible!