Pork Shoulder Picnic Roast Recipe [Crispy Skin & Slow Roasted] (2024)

On keto, I’m always looking for different ways to get fatty meats into my diet that will taste great and keep my wallet (and stomach) full. Yesterday, I picked up this 8 pound roast for just under $16. Yep, that’s under $2 a pound – and it’ll feed an entire family for a few days! Pulled pork is just plain delicious – and if you think we have to slather or smoke this baby just to coax some flavor out of it – you could never have been so wrong.

Double check on what type of pork shoulder you are actually getting. There are 2 parts of the pork shoulder – the Picnic Roast (what we’re using) and Boston Butt (which comes from the upper part of the shoulder). Boston Butt is generally a bit more expensive, but will usually have the bone removed for easier serving. If you end up using a Boston Butt, you will have to keep an eye on it – it will cook quicker and is usually a bit smaller in size. Not to mention, it’s usually boneless which means it can dry out if you’re not careful.

The Picnic Roast is what we’re using. This cut of meat is generally a little bit tougher than a Boston Butt, though ends up with a great final texture and more flavor. Instead of getting those soft stringy – almost mushy – pieces of meat, we’ll have meaty chunks of pork that we can literally pull apart with our fingers. It does take a little extra cooking time, and a little more patience – but it’s so easy and way cheaper.

Pork shoulder normally takes up a whole afternoon of cooking, but I really don’t like smelling the pork all day and getting hungry, so I opt to cook it overnight. I generally have a game plan of 9-10 hours that I’ll be cooking it for, so I just keep that in mind for what time I should put it in the oven for when I get up in the morning. You definitely don’t want to rush the cooking process. Slow and low will allow for the fat and connective tissues to render down properly, essentially basting the whole shoulder as you cook it. This results in incredibly tender and juicy pork once you’re finished.

You may be wondering what the heck you’re going to do with 20 servings of pork. You can practically feed a whole party or gathering with just 1 roast – and it’s perfect for cooking and freezing for future recipes. Over the next few days I’ll be posting some new recipes that I’ve made using the pork shoulder – keep an eye out!

Yields 20 servings (6 oz.) of Crispy Skin Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

The Preparation

• 8 pounds bone-in, skin-on, pork shoulder
• 3 ½ tablespoonssalt
• 2 teaspoonsoregano
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 1 teaspoongarlic powder
• 1 teaspoononion powder

The Execution

1. Completely wash and pat dry the pork. Leave on the counter-top for 2-3 hours to come to room temperature.

2. Once the pork has been dried and is coming to romm temperature (after a few hours), preheat your oven to 250F. Mix together all of the spices in a bowl.

3. Starting skin side down, pat the salt rub all over the pork to completely cover it. Once the bottom is done, flip and place on a wire rack that’s sitting over a baking sheet covered in foil. Spread the rub on all sides and top of the pork.

4. Once your oven is preheated and pork rubbed, place into the oven and bake for anywhere between 8-10 hours. I did 10 hours for my 8 lb. roast, but if you have smaller sizes or bigger sizes, you will have to adjust accordingly. You essentially want the internal temperature to be about 190F.

5. Remove the pork from the oven and cover with foil. Allow the pork to rest for 15 total minutes. Preheat oven to 500F.

6. Once pork is rested and oven to at 500F, remove the foil tent from the pork and place into the oven. We will rotate the pork every 5 minutes to allow for even cooking of the skin (YAY CRACKLINS’). There may be smoke that comes out of your oven during this process due to the fat that dripped off during the roast time burning. You can either open the window or remove this fat previous to putting into the oven.

7. Take the pork out of the oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing/digging in.

8. Serve up for family and friends alike – the pork should be completely tender, easily seperating from the roast by pulling the meat off with your fingers.

This makes a total of 20 (6 oz.) servings of Crispy Skin Pork Shoulder. Each serving comes out to be 461 Calories, 36.7g Fats, 0.2g Net Carbs, and 30.3g Protein.