Roasted Pork Shoulder

January is ending and I'm looking back at the month from the outside of it. It was a full one: Grace's anniversary, the channel growing, the workshops in their regular rhythm, the kids settling back into school after Christmas break. The lasagna from the anniversary day has been eaten and the freezer needs restocking and that's actually how I gauge the month — by what moved through the kitchen.

I've been reading about other food educators online — not just YouTubers but writers, teachers, community program directors. Trying to understand the landscape I'm apparently entering. Priya's word keeps coming back: curriculum. I ordered three books about food education and read them in evenings after the kids were down. One of them made me feel like someone understood exactly what I was attempting. I wrote in the margins until I ran out of room.

Gary and I had a real conversation this week about what "more formal" might mean. Not necessarily a business — more like: what structures would let me do this at larger scale without burning myself out. He's practical about these things. He said, "Before you decide on structure, figure out what you actually want to be doing in three years." So I've been thinking about that. What do I want to be doing in three years?

Teaching. Feeding. Reaching the people who need it most. Keeping the workshops going. Letting the channel be what it's becoming. Writing things down — maybe a formal curriculum, maybe something people can use without me in the room.

That's enough to start with.

With January behind me and the freezer officially empty after that anniversary lasagna, I needed something that would earn its keep — a meal built for multiples, the kind you slide into the oven and let work while you read in the next room. A roasted pork shoulder is exactly that: it feeds a crowd, freezes in portions, and the low-and-slow process feels like the cooking equivalent of what I’ve been trying to build in the workshops — patient, foundational, and useful long after the day it’s made.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 4 hrs 30 min | Total Time: 4 hrs 45 min | Servings: 10

Ingredients

4 to 5 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 325°F. Let the pork shoulder sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes while you prepare the rub and aromatics.
Score and stud the roast. Using a sharp knife, cut 10 small slits about 1 inch deep across the surface of the pork. Press a garlic half into each slit. Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern.
Make the spice rub. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, rosemary, and thyme. Drizzle the olive oil over the pork, then press the spice rub all over every surface, including the underside.
Build the roasting base. Scatter the chopped onion across the bottom of a large roasting pan or Dutch oven. Pour in the chicken broth. Set the pork shoulder fat-side up on top of the onions.
Roast low and slow. Cover tightly with a lid or heavy-duty foil and roast for 3 hours 30 minutes. Uncover and continue roasting for 45 minutes to 1 hour more, until the fat cap is golden and caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 195°F to 205°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Rest before serving. Remove from the oven and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for at least 20 minutes. Pull or slice the meat, discarding the bone. Spoon pan drippings over the top before serving.
Freeze for later. Cool leftovers completely and portion into zip-top freezer bags with a few spoonfuls of pan juices. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in a covered skillet with a splash of broth.

Nutrition (per serving)

Roasted Pork Shoulder — The Meal That Refills the Freezer and Steadies the Month