This simple recipe for oven-roasted pork butt with garlic and herbs is excellent for meal prep as well as special occasions. It also makes a terrific party food. This recipe calls for slow roasting a big pork roast with loads of garlic, fresh thyme, parsley, and rosemary.
This dish for pork serves a large crowd. It’s designed for a big roast with the bone in. Try our Cuban Roast Pork recipe for a smaller, boneless roast. This is a simple dish that calls for cooking a smaller cut of pork at a moderate temperature until it is soft enough to break apart.
The top part of the pig’s shoulder is used to make a pork butt roast, also known as a Boston butt pork roast. Because this cut has a lot of connective tissue and fat marbling, which requires a lengthy, slow cooking time to break down, it is best prepared for slow-roasting, braising, or smoking.
OVEN ROASTED PORK INGREDIENTS
- pig: This dish calls for a large bone-in pig butt (Boston butt), weighing between 6 and 9 pounds.
- Herbs & spices: To enhance taste, add fresh garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper.
- Oil: Since the meat will be baked at a high temperature (425°F), use oil with a high smoke point. Canola oil is what we use because of its flavorless nature and high smoke point.
- For preparation and quantity information, see the recipe card.
HOW TO MAKE OVEN ROASTED PORK
To a small bowl, add the garlic, oil, thyme, parsley, rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper. Mix well to blend.
Put the pork belly into a big baking dish or roasting pan with a rim. I prefer the meat to cook in the rendered drippings, but you may use a roasting rack if you’d like.
Apply the prepared garlic-herb mixture all over the meat. After that, flip it over so the fat cap is facing down. Place plastic wrap over it and place it in the refrigerator for one hour, or up to two days.
- To remove the cold from the meat and roasting pan/dish, take the pork out of the refrigerator and leave it to rest at room temperature. Take off the lid and add one teaspoon of salt on top.
- Usually two places from the bottom, set the oven rack in the lowest third of the oven. Next, turn the oven on to 425°F.
- For half an hour, roast the pork at this high temperature.
- After that, reduce the heat to 300°F and cook for a further 6–7 hours, or until the beef is extremely soft and the internal temperature reaches 180–190°F (check with a meat thermometer).
- After four to five hours, check the roast’s top. Once the caramelization and browning are to your preference, cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Don’t wrap the piece; instead, make it about the size of the pan. Simply set it atop.
SERVING INSTRUCTIONS
Move the roast to a sheet pan or rimmed dish. It may come apart, but you may attempt to transfer it whole because it will be very delicate. To make sure the bottom and sides weren’t adhering to the baking dish, we used a spatula to release them. Next, we lifted and supported the pig with two spatulas while we moved it to the plate. Enjoy it with your preferred side dishes!
STORING INSTRUCTIONS
For three to four days, keep any leftover pork in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Allow the pork to cool before freezing it and storing it in a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container. For two to three months, freeze.
TOP RECIPE TIPS AND NOTES
- Before putting the baking dish or roasting pan in the preheated oven, let it to cool. particularly when working with stoneware, ceramics, or glass. Certain cookware is not resilient to abrupt fluctuations in temperature.
- To maintain a steady temperature, try not to open the oven. Use the oven light to peer in rather than opening the door.
- After four to five hours, check the roast’s top. Once the caramelization and browning are to your preference, cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Don’t wrap the piece; instead, make it about the size of the pan. Simply set it atop.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Should the fat cap be up or down?
Either approach is acceptable. In order to have a lovely crust on top, we prefer to press the fat cap down.
Will this recipe work for a smaller roast?‘
It will, indeed. The initial and subsequent oven temperature will stay the same whether your roast weighs five to six pounds. You may use the same amount of herbs and perhaps use 4-5 teaspoons less oil. It will still take around six hours to cook. Make sure the middle of the biggest portion of the roast is at least 180°F to 190°F, and the pork butt should be extremely soft.
Why start a roast at a high temperature?
A higher starting temperature is used for the roast in order to promote browning and rapid heating of the meat. After that, the heat is reduced to let the roast cook gradually and give the connective tissue time to decompose.
MORE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Easy Oven Roasted Pork Butt with Garlic and Herbs
Ingredients
- 7-8 pound Pork Butt also called Boston butt bone-in and we leave the fat cap on, but you can trim some, or all of it if desired
- 5-6 Large Garlic Cloves chopped don’t chop them too fine because smaller pieces will burn quickly
- 6 tablespoons Oil use a neutral oil with a high smoke point – we use canola oil
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary thick stems removed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme thick stems removed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley thick stems removed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Salt we use Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add the garlic, oil, thyme, parsley, rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper. Mix well to blend.
- Transfer the pig butt to a large roasting pan or platter with a rim. Although you may use a roasting rack if you’d like, I like for the pork to cook right in the rendered drippings.
- Apply the prepared garlic-herb mixture all over the meat. After that, flip it over so the fat cap is facing down. Place plastic wrap over it and place it in the refrigerator for one hour, or up to two days.
- To remove the chill from the meat and roasting pan/dish, take the pork out of the refrigerator and allow it to settle at room temperature (see notes). Take off the lid and add one teaspoon of salt on top.
- Usually two places from the bottom, set the oven rack in the lowest third of the oven. Next, turn the oven on to 425°F.
- Give the meat 30 minutes to roast.
- After that, reduce the heat to 300°F and cook for a further 6–7 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 180–190°F and the meat is extremely soft.
- After four to five hours, check the roast’s top. Once the caramelization and browning are to your preference, cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Don’t wrap the piece; instead, make it about the size of the pan. Simply set it atop.
Serving
- Move the roast to a sheet pan or rimmed dish. It may come apart, but you may attempt to transfer it whole because it will be very delicate. To make sure the bottom and sides weren't adhering to the baking dish, we used a spatula to release them. Next, we lifted and supported the pig with two spatulas while we moved it to the plate.