what to do with pork "picnic" shoulder roast?

Paul

Paul

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My son brought several of these large, bone in pork should roasts home. They are +/- 12lbs each. I tried butchering one (after watching a youtube instruction video). My results were way different than the expert and I really don't want to do that again! Also figured out that mine are "picnic" shoulder afterwards so explaining some of my difficulties. Any ideas? KISS Principle appreciated.

 
It's just part of the shoulder and good for anything a shoulder is--like pulled pork

which is what I often get them for.
Michael Chiarello has a good recipe for an herbed one. They don't slice as well as other parts of the shoulder so something that is "pulled" is better.
If you wanted to bone it out and cut into chunks/dice it would make a great chili or green chile pork dish. It is a tough piece of meat so requires braising, not roasting. But great flavor.

 
yes those are the issues I faced

the "picnic" roast is tougher and my two best knives had problems scoring the seriously leathery skin. The other issue is because this roast has the big bone throughout the center there is no easy way to butcher the meat and it is so large that it doesn't fit into my crockpot or pressure cooker. I don't have a dutch oven large enough either so I have a regular roasting pan.

 
I like that you cook the skin a bit before scoring it. I will try this thanks.

 
OH, wait. You have the real hog skin on that picnic. Cut through it somewhere and lift it

off of the fat cap underneath. You don't really want to cook that on it for most recipes. Keep it and put in the pan when your roast and you'll have really good pork skin--cut in strips and squares.

 
This was marvelous: Debbie in GA's Twelve-hour Pork Shoulder Roast

Other than a turkey, this was the largest piece of meat I've purchased that was bigger than my head and while most meats are intimidating, this one actually scared me.

Anyhow....it's an all-night baking thing and even the garlic didn't ruin it for me. Absolutely wonderful.

Please read the link as it has lots of commentary from Debbie, especially about the salt level. But I wanted to post the ingredients and basic steps here as well:

1 pork shoulder with skin (see note) -- 7-9 pounds
12 cloves garlic -- finely chopped
3 tablespoons fennel seeds
8 small dried red chiles -- crumbled (I used 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes)
salt and pepper -- to taste
Juice of 6 lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
Pan Drippings:
14 ounces canned chicken broth
Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 450F.

Score the pork shoulder all over by slicing deeply into the skin, making cuts 1/4 inch apart.

In a food processor or by hand, chop the garlic, fennel seeds, chiles and salt and pepper until coarsely ground. Rub this mixture all over the pork and into the cuts.

Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes, or until the skin begins to crackle and brown. Loosen the shoulder from the bottom of the pan and pour half the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the pork.

Reduce the oven temperature to 250F and roast the pork for 12 hours more, basting occasionally with the remaining lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, until it's completely soft under the skin. Push it with your finger; it should give and may even fall off the bone.

For the Pan Drippings: Remove the roast from the pan and spoon off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat from the drippings. Place the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and scrape up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom. When the juices are hot, add the broth and lemon juice (but taste the drippings first; you may not need more lemon), continuing to scrape the pan and reduce the juices for about 5 minutes, or until you have a sauce consistency.

Serve each person a little of the crisp skin along with the meat and pass the pan of drippings separately.

Description:
"Wow."
Source:
"Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food via The Best American Recipes 2000"
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NOTES : You'll most likely need to order the pork shoulder (butt) ahead of time. Unless you have an Italian, Chinese, or Mexican butcher, th eidea of a pork shoulder with skin on may draw a complete blank. If you're offered a picnic ham with skin--that is, the forearm--just say no; that meat is sinewy and won't have the same lusciousness as the shoulder. There are two other options: the butcher can take the skin off a fresh ham and wrap it around the butt, or you can just forget about the skin and simply wrap the meat in oiled foil once the initial browning takes place. Don't worry about the basting in that case; just skip it. The meat will brown under the foil, and it will be moist and delicious.

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=5248

 
Roast it whole, high heat (450

turn the heat down TO 350º and cook until meat reaches 160º. Let rest a while before lifting off the skin. I usually use a pair of meat scissors to cut through the skin at the narrow part of the roast, them lift off with a knife to loosen the skin. Slice as much as you want and eat with, my faves, mashed potatoes and gravy from the drippings.

You have lots left over? Put it in the fridge and then early the next morning put it in the crockpot, with some gravy; you may need to cut the small bone off of the elbow (narrow) end to get it to fit. The roast can be also boned out and then everything (including the bones if they fit) added to the crockpot. Add a little water to get the gravy liquid and cook on high for an hour then lower to low. In 6-7 hours or so, the meat should be falling off the bone. You can eat this in burritos, use a little in fried rice or egg foo young, put it in quesadillas, pile it on rolls, douse with bbq sauce for hot sandwiches . . .

And remember slices of the meat cold make a nice sandwich on a good bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, your choice of dressings.

You can use the gravy-juice from this to heat up and cook some potatoes, celery, onions and what have you for a stew adding the meat in chunks last, after all the veggies are done. Use some of the meat chunked up and some of the gravy as a chile con carne, with or without beans, tastes great. Shred some of the meat, moisten with a little gravy and use in tacos with all of the trimmings.

If I don't want leftovers, I just invite my family over and * BOINK *, no leftovers. . .

And, upon reading my post--do I have a craving. Local Store has pork picnic roast on sale for $.79/lb. MethinKs I will be cooking pork roast this Saturday or Sunday.

 
SO next time I'm gonna slow roast but yesterday on instict and with a bit of help here

I did similar to what you said. I put it in at 450. I had done my best at scoring the skin but it wasn't pretty. I cooked it uncovered to crisp the skin for about 45 minutes then I covered it and cooked it at 375 for another 6 hours. What I had read online was to go down to about 250 for 9+ hours (one site said 16 hours) but I needed dinner so I went with 375 and hoped I'd have something ready. The result was simply fantastic all but the skin. Some of it crisped and cooked through and the kids loved it but the rest ranged from shoe leather to mushy so I need to refine this part.

As opposed to last time I attempted cooking this roast, it was tender and awesome. The connective tissue had completely broken down and added to the flavor. Last time even tenderizing the meat, it was still very chewy. Even though it is cheap, this is actually a great flavor cut of meat but IMHO the only way is slow roasting it - covered. Slow roasted this has to be one of my favorites. Otherwise it is a pass for easier pickins. I have three more of these roasts so a lot of good ideas to try and instead of giving up on the "picnic" forever, now I am going to be looking for it. Thank you all for the feedback.

 
I should add one note on what I did yesterday. This is something that I also do when roasting turke

Instead of putting the meat on a rack, after I crisped the skin, I put a bed of vegetables in the roaster and set the meat on it. My veggie mix included:

Onions, celery, carrots, very finely chopped leeks and a small amount of potatoes which I basically threw in because I had them and wanted to add some bulk. I just added a little grape seed oil and pepper and a couple splashes of red pepper sauce to the veggies (not the meat).

The meat I had seasoned with pink salt, garlic, black and white pepper, thyme, oregano and rubbed it into the meat and the scores I'd made on the skin.

The meat got great reviews but I heard something that is rarely said in my house from anyone under 40: "I like the vegetables even more than the meat"

 
You said the answer

Even though it is cheap, this is actually a great flavor cut of meat but IMHO the only way is slow roasting it -

This is a tough piece of meat. The tissue only breaks down if slow roasted--it can be done in an open pan, and the crust will be delicious. It doesn't have to be in a crock pot or a dutch oven.
The temperature goal for this slow cooking is 190*. When you roast this at higher temps, the proteins are "set" and only get tough. When you cook a tender piece of pork, it can be roasted at high temp, but for best results, removed at 145* and let rest.

 
Maybe you get different pork than we get out here . . .

I can truly say I have never eating a tough picnic roast (skin-on pork roast) in all the years I have been eating it with my family, and they are always cooked the way I mention above. About 1/2 hr high heat to crisp up the skin and then reduce heat to 350 to finish cooking. One more add on: you must let the roast sit for a while. Don't try to cut it immediately, it really needs to rest, but because of its good insulation (skin and fat) it stays hot as you finish up dinner.

My mom always cooked until it was done, didn't use a thermometer, but the roasts were always cooked, oh, 2-3 hours or so. I think she just cooked it by time, and so do I, but I like to use my gadgets. She even cooked them a time or two *frozen* to start! They were always good.

We have had some dryer roasts, but that is what gravy is for, right? smileys/smile.gif

 
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