Let's dispel a few myths. The idea with beef is that the meat is best the further away from the horns as you can afford it. Shoulder of lamb is a great cut but hideously expensive and needs cooking for hours on a low heat. Pork shoulder was traditionally the cut of choice for making sausages, I've personally run thousands of kilos through a commercial mincer!
All that said. If you've not a great deal of money and it's on offer – why not? This joint cost us the frightening sum of £2.14 and in addition to last nights feast we'll be making a stir-fry from the remaining half for tonight. Shoulder pork is also the joint used for Pulled Pork which is effectively well over cooked meat shredded with BBQ sauce added to mask the lack of 'meat' flavour.
If it's been frozen (As ours was) Don't expect crackling. The ice created during home freezing breaks the fat / protein boundary structures. Commercially blast frozen joints might work better for crackling but there's nothing like a fresh cut. If you happen to have a Buster equivalent the slightly leathery rind is a free alternative you dog chews and certainly better appreciated!
Roasting:-
Ingredients:-
Pork shoulder
Oil
Salt & Pepper
Oh and an oven!
Method:-
Heat the oven to 220C
Rub the meat all over with Oil, Salt & Pepper
Place in the oven for 20 minutes
Lower the heat to 200c for a further 30 minutes
Lower the heat to 180c and cook until the meat runs clear. The longer you leave the better. Add a little stock to keep your joint moist if you are cooking for hours.
We served ours with veg, Yorkshire Pudding and home made gravy.
Enjoy!
