Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder Recipe

Name: Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 400 min
Ingredients: 4-6 pound boneless pork shoulder roast ((could also use bone-in)); 2 Tablespoon minced garlic; 1 Tablespoon soy sauce; ½ Tablespoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; 3 Tablespoon olive oil; 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard; 2 cups chicken broth (more if needed); 2 Tablespoon liquid smoke; 1 onion ( sliced); 2 carrots (sliced); 2 celery stalks (sliced)

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This oven roasted pork shoulder recipe is a great recipe to make on the weekend that you can prepare in the morning and let the oven or slow cooker do the heavy lifting throughout the day.

You can find this cut of pork at most grocery stores! Plus, you can store the leftovers in an airtight container to eat later. The cooking process takes a bit of time, but the tender meat will be worth it. There are tons of pork roast recipes you can make too such as pork sandwiches, pork tenderloin, and pork chops.

This is the easiest way we’ve found to make the best pulled pork recipe. You can also use these guidelines to make a boneless pork shoulder butt roast or a boneless pork shoulder roast that will be delicious with barbecue sauce!

Ingredients needed to make Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

To make our oven roasted pork shoulder, you need the following ingredients:

Boneless pork shoulder
Minced garlic
Soy sauce
Salt
Ground black pepper
Dried thyme
Dried rosemary
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Chicken broth
Liquid smoke
Onion, sliced
Carrots, sliced
Celery stalks, sliced

Equipment Needed

For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:

A small bowl of seasonings mixed together.

Spooning seasonings on top of a raw pork shoulder on a rack.

How to Make Our Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder

Preheat the oven to 450℉.
In a small bowl, combine garlic, soy sauce, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, olive oil, and mustard.
Rub seasoning mixture on all sides of the pork roast.
Place a rack inside a large roasting pan and place roast covered in rub on top of the rack.
Cook uncovered roast in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to slightly brown.
Remove roast from oven and lower heat to 240℉.
Pour chicken broth and liquid smoke over roast and add vegetables on top and around roast.
Make a tent out of aluminum foil to put over the roast and return to the oven. Let the pork cook for 2 hours uninterrupted, but then start checking every hour or so and baste the roast with liquids from the bottom of the pan. Add more chicken broth to the pan if needed (you want liquid in the bottom the whole time so that the roast doesn’t dry out).
The cooking time will vary based on the size of your roast and your oven, so that’s why it’s recommended to start checking and basting your roast hourly. As a guideline, here are some cooking times: 4 lb roast: 3.5 – 5 hours, 5 lb roast: 4 – 5.5 hours, and 6 lb roast: 4.5 – 6 hours.
The roast is done cooking when the internal temperature somewhere between 175-180℉.
Remove the roast from the oven, but keep the aluminum foil tent on top and let the roast rest for 15-20 minutes.
Slice or shred the pork (it should almost be falling apart at this point) and then drizzle with some of the pan juices.

Baked Pork Roast in a roasting pan, with a hand pouring chicken broth from a measuring cup on top of the roast.

Top view of a pork roast on a rack in a roasting pan surrounded by onions, carrots, and celery.

Expert Tips

Cooking a pork shoulder roast that is full of flavor and falls apart isn’t hard, but it does take time. You are going to want to cook this cut of meat low and slow because the shoulder is hard-working muscle and is actually a pretty tough piece of meat.

Cooking it at a low temperature and slow helps it to become incredibly tender and easy to shred. To make this roast, you will need a roasting pan with a rack.

If you don’t have a roasting pan, make your own by using cylinders of aluminum foil. To do this, simply roll three to five pieces of aluminum foil into sturdy, long and tight cylinders. Lay them across the bottom of the pan, mimicking the layout of a traditional rack. You can now cook your roast on that!

A pork roast in a roasting pan that is covered with aluminum foil.

Oven Roasted Pork Shoulder on a rack in a roasting pan with celery and carrots.

Storing and Reheating Instructions

To store oven-roasted pork shoulder, you can:

Container: Place the wrapped pork in an airtight container.
Refrigerate: Store the pork in the fridge up to 4 days.

To reheat oven-roasted pork shoulder, you can:

Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add some water or broth to an oven-safe pan. Place the pork in the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and reheat for 15 to 20 minutes.
Stove: Cook the pork slices on the griddle for a couple of minutes per side until crispy.
Microwave: Reheat the pork in the microwave.

FAQ’s

How Long to Roast a Pork Shoulder?

It depends on the size of the roast. A rough estimation is 75-90 minutes per pound of meat. In order to give you a nice crust on the outside and fall-apart meat on the inside, we are going to cook at a high heat for a short time and then slow roast it for the rest of the time. With slow-cooked oven roasts, start the oven at 450℉ and cook it at that high temperature for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature down to 240℉.
Then depending on how much the roast weighs will determine how long to cook it:
3 lb roast: 3-4 hours
4 lb roast: 3.5 – 5 hours
5 lb roast: 4 – 5.5 hours
6 lb roast: 4.5 – 6 hours
7 lb roast: 5 – 6.5 hours
8 lb roast: 5.5 – 7.5 hours
9 lb roast: 6 – 8 hours
10 lb roast: 7.5 – 9 hours, possibly up to 10 hours
Every single roast is different and every oven will cook a little differently, so use the outlined times as a guide. Start checking your roast at the first time mentioned and then go from there until your pork roast is so tender that it falls apart.
You want the internal temperature of the pork roast to be somewhere between 175- 180℉.

Bone-in VS Boneless Pork Roast?

A Bone-in pork shoulder roast will take a little longer to cook and the bone is also included in the total weight of the roast. Some prefer a bone-in because they say that the bone gives it more flavor, but a boneless pork roast will be full of flavor as well. The thing that makes the biggest difference in flavor is how you cook it.

Can you use Pork Butt Roast?

Pork shoulder is also commonly called a “Boston butt”, “pork butt”, “picnic shoulder”, or “picnic roast” depending on the specific part of the shoulder cut. For this pork roast recipe any of these cuts will work.

Shredded cooked pork meat served on a white plate.

Enjoy More Delicious Pork Main Dishes

Whether you like your pork cooked in the slow cooker, grill, or Instant Pot, pork is one of the most versatile main dishes. Check out our comprehensive collection of pork main dishes here.

Join The Discussion

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Questions & Reviews

amber h says:

can you use a beef roast instead?
Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

You can use beef roast with this recipe. The flavor will be different, obviously, but it should turn out great!
Lindsay says:

Incredibly tender and full of flavor!