This method for roast pork gets you meat that’s juicy and tender on the inside but with a nice brown crust on the outside. It works perfectly every time!
- Video: How To Roast Pork Using The Reverse Sear
- How To Roast Pork Perfectly
- Ingredients
- Getting Your Pork Roast Ready For Roasting
- Cooking The Pork Roast On Low Heat
- Let The Pork Roast Rest
- It’s Time For The REVERSE SEAR!
- Can I Make The Roast Ahead Of Time?
- Storage Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Podcast Episode: Roasting Pork Perfectly
- How to Roast Pork Perfectly
My favorite way to cook a pork roast is inspired by my favorite way to roast prime rib, which uses the reverse sear method from Serious Eats.com. To do the reverse sear, you cook the roast at a low temperature in the oven until it gets to the temperature you like. Then you let it rest for awhile. Then you put it into a really hot oven to get a nice crispy brown crust.
It might seem counter-intuitive if you’re used to searing your roast before cooking it. But I promise, it works amazingly well. So well that I’ve applied it to pork roast with the most amazing and perfect results. This is the only way that I roast pork now. The reverse sear is also my new favorite way to cook steaks. I’m pretty excited about it all!
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So, today I’m showing you how to apply this same reverse-sear technique to roasting pork. You get a soft juicy inside (nearly as soft as slow cooker pulled pork) and all kinds of good crunchy meat and fat on the outside.
Video: How To Roast Pork Using The Reverse Sear
How To Roast Pork Perfectly
This how-to is for pork roasts that have some marbling. Look for a pork butt or a pork shoulder (boneless or with bone). Don’t try it with a loin. Just don’t. If you have a pork loin instead of a butt or shoulder, go here for instructions for roasting it perfectly.
Ingredients
So now that you know that the cut of pork we’re using, you need to know the size. Between 4 and 8 pounds is ideal. Other than that, there are only a few ingredients that you need for this pork roast recipe.
I keep my seasonings simple with black pepper, garlic powder, and salt. The only other thing we need is some low-sodium chicken broth. So easy.
Getting Your Pork Roast Ready For Roasting
1) Take your pork roast out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven temperature to 300°F.
2) If your pork roast has a thick layer of fat on the outside, cut all but a thin layer away so that it’s a thinner coating.
Tip: Don’t throw this fat out. Season it lightly with salt and then put it in a single layer in a cake pan (something with edges because a lot of hot fatty liquid is going to come out of it). Roast it in the 300°F oven until some fat is rendered. Drain off the fat and keep roasting until very crispy. Check it every 30 minutes or so. When it’s crisp and lightly browned blot it on some paper towel and then break it into pieces. Try hard not to eat it all yourself.
3) In a small bowl mix together 1 teaspoon salt, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of pepper, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder. That’s the right amount for a 5 lb. roast. If your roast is bigger or smaller, adjust the amounts accordingly. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture all over your roast.
Cooking The Pork Roast On Low Heat
4) Put the roast in a large roasting pan, fat-side-up. Add about a half inch of low or no-salt-added chicken broth to the bottom of the pan. Roast it uncovered.
How Long Do You Roast The Pork For?
You’re not aiming for a medium-rare pork here. You want that really tender meat like for pulled pork. But you don’t want it to be so tender that it actually pulls when you try to slice it. Aim for about 180°F internal temperature. That will be about 40 minutes per pound at 300°F.
Tip: Use an instant read thermometer to check it after 25 minutes per pound and then again every 5 minutes per pound after that. So if you have a 5 pound roast, you’ll check it after 125 minutes (about 2 hours) and then every 25 minutes or so after that. It will probably take 3 and 1/2 hours to get to 180°F.
5) When the broth evaporates and has left a light brown layer on the bottom of the pan, add more (or add water). Be sure to add enough liquid so that it goes back up the sides of the pan. This is to dissolve any brownings on the sides of the pan from the previous round of broth. You want all of this brown flavor in your eventual gravy.
6) Put the roast back into the oven. When the liquid level gets low again, add more liquid again.
Let The Pork Roast Rest
7) When the roast gets to 180°F, take the roast out of the oven and let it rest for 30-40 minutes. It will be fine for up to an hour. There is no need to cover it during resting time. This is important because this is the only time the roast will rest. Don’t skip this step.
You’re probably wondering if the roast is going to get cold during this long rest. It actually stays warm inside for a long time though. Also, you’re going to be putting the roast back into the oven for a bit and that will reheat it. Finally, it’s my general opinion that once you carve a roast, those slices tend to cool down pretty quickly no matter what you’ve done. The key is to have a lot of really hot gravy to pour over it all. That makes it all warm and delicious!
Tip: Use this resting time to finish off your other side dishes and make the gravy using that gorgeous brown liquid from your roasting pan. Here’s my method for making a perfect gravy using drippings like the ones you have from this roast.
It’s Time For The REVERSE SEAR!
8) Preheat the oven to 475°F.
9) Put the roast onto a clean baking sheet, or rinse out the roasting pan it was previously in and use that. Put it into the hot oven for 13-17 minutes, uncovered. You want the outside to get really nice and brown and the fat to get crunchy.
10) Carve immediately and serve. Don’t rest it when you take it out. It already rested earlier. Just get carving and eating!
Tip: Use an inexpensive electric carving knife like this one to carve roasts. It shreds the meat less and you can get thin slices with an even thickness.
Isn’t that the coolest way to roast pork? It’s low and slow so that it’s tender and juicy, just the way you want it. And the outside is all brown and crunchy and full of flavor. I’m never going to roast pork another way.
Can I Make The Roast Ahead Of Time?
YES! My parents’ restaurants used to do a lot of catering when I was a teenager, and so I did a lot of catering alongside them. What we used to do for turkeys is exactly what you should do for this roast pork recipe if you have a crowd coming over.
A day ahead, roast the pork. Follow the instructions above and roast it slowly at 300°F, then let it rest, then do the reverse sear, but then let it rest again. Let it rest until it’s cooled down quite a bit.
Next you want to refrigerate it whole until chilled. This makes it really easy to get nice even slices because slicing it cold there are less juices flowing and everything holds together better.
Use an inexpensive electric knife, if you have one, to get nice thin slices. A carving knife works too just not as well and it gets tiring if you’re doing a lot of slicing.
Arrange the slices in a single slightly overlapping layer on a large sheet pan. 40 minutes before you’re serving dinner, dribble water or chicken stock over the pork slices.
You want about 1 drop of water for every 3-4 slices. Very little water, really. But the water is going to heat and steam and keep the roast juicy. Next, cover the sheet pan with foil and then put it into the oven at 300°F until just heated through, about 25-30 minutes. Serve.
If you want to keep several trays of meat warm while serving, you can do that. Heat the trays all together in the oven at 300°F for 30 minutes. Then drop the heat down to 200°F so that you’re just keeping them warm and not at risk of them actually cooking or starting to dry out.
Storage Tips
I like to carve the entire roast and store it in the fridge in slices. The slices are easier to grab to use than having to haul out the whole roast and cut it every time. Put the slices in a sealed container. They’ll keep for 3-4 days in the fridge. Or you can put them in a freezer bag and freeze them for a month.
Frequently Asked Questions
I answer a lot of questions in the comment section at the bottom so do read those, but here’s a summary of the most frequently asked questions.
As long as the roasts are not touching and there is room for air to circulate between them, the roasting time does not need to be adjusted. Weigh each roast on its own and determine how long it will take. The cooking times for each roast will be independent of the other roast there.
Here is my tutorial for making gravy. This recipe uses the liquid from the roasting pan. If you want to make the gravy ahead of time, you totally can. Use this recipe for making gravy without drippings. Then, if you want to, you can add some of the liquid from the roasting pan while the roast is resting.
Yes, you can use a brine or a marinade. I honestly don’t think it’s needed for the tender juicy cuts used here though(the butt and shoulder). It’s more beneficial when doing a leaner cut like a loin or tenderloin. If you do brine the roast, you won’t be able to use the liquids that drip out of it during roasting. They’ll be too salty. You’ll need to use the Gravy without Drippings recipe.
Yes. But then skip adding the liquid to the pan. You want the vegetables to roast, not boil. Arrange potatoes or other root vegetables around the roast in a single layer for the last hour of cooking. While the roast rests, you can put the veggies in a low oven to keep them warm, or you can let them keep roasting at a higher temperature to get a crust on them. Note that you won’t get any drippings for gravy since the vegetables will soak up all the fat and juices from the roast. That’s not a bad thing at all. Just go ahead and do the Gravy without Drippings mentioned above.
Once you have the leftovers, you can do all kinds of things with them. You can use them anywhere you’d use cooked chicken. Put them on a salad or in a sandwich or wrap. They’re great on a bun with BBQ sauce, like pulled pork sort of. You can mix them with any pasta sauce and serve with pasta. It’s great chopped up and put with rice, like Chinese fried rice, or even white rice with peas and pork. The possibilities are endless!
Podcast Episode: Roasting Pork Perfectly
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this amazingly perfect Roast Pork Recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintHow to Roast Pork Perfectly
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–12 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This is a method for how to roast pork so that it is juicy and tender on the inside and has a gorgeous brown crust on the outside. It works perfectly every time! Note: If you have a pork loin instead, get instructions for cooking it over here.
Ingredients
- a boneless or bone in pork butt or pork shoulder (4-8 pounds is ideal)
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- low or no-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Take your pork roast out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 300°F.
- If your pork roast has a thick layer of fat on the outside, cut about half of it away so that it’s a thinner layer. You can throw this out. Or, the best thing to do, is to turn it into a snack to have while your pork is roasting. Put the fat that you removed from the roast in a single layer on its own cake pan. Use a pan with edges because a lot of hot fatty liquid is going to come out of it. Season it lightly with salt. Roast the layer of fat in the 300F oven until it’s brown and very crispy. Check it often. Blot it on kitchen towel. Break it into pieces and offer it as nibbles to anyone who is lured into your kitchen by the roasting pork smells.
- Meanwhile, mix the pepper, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl and then sprinkle liberally all over the roast.
- Put the roast in a large roasting pan, fat-side-up. You do not need to use a rack in the pan.
- Add about half an inch of low or no-sodium chicken broth to the bottom of the pan. Put it into the oven, uncovered.
- Cook for 40 minutes per pound or until an instant read thermometer reaches 180F. This may seem high for pork but your goal is really tender, slow-cooked pork, almost like the texture of pulled pork.
- If at any point most of the broth has evaporated, add more. Add enough to cover any brownings on the side of the pan from where the previous broth evaporated away. This will dissolve those brownings and flavor your gravy.
- Take the roast out of the oven. Transfer it to a plate so that you can get at the roasting pan and make your gravy. Let the roast rest for 30-40 minutes. This is important because this is the only time the roast will rest. The roast does not need to be covered during resting time. Use this time to make your gravy. (Here’s how to make gravy using the flavorful broth from the bottom of the roasting pan) and to finish off your other side dishes and set the table.
- Preheat the oven to 475F.
- Once the roast has rested, and the oven has preheated, and once you have everything else for your dinner just about ready, put the roast into a clean roasting pan or onto a baking sheet, uncovered, and put it into the hot oven for 13-17 minutes. You want the outside to get nice and brown.
- When it’s really nice and browned, take the roast out of the oven and immediately carve it* and serve it. Do not let it rest now since it has already rested.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*Tip: Use an inexpensive electric carving knife like this one to carve roasts. It shreds the meat less and you can get thin slices with an even thickness.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one and buy something, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own.
This post originally appeared in December 2014 and was revised and republished in October 2022.
DJ MacIver says
The roast I made with this recipe was awesome. The meat was so juicy and tender, it didn’t need the gravy I made. My husband, my guest and I were swooning over how delicious it was. I’m definitely going to make this recipe again.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks so much, DJ! So happy to hear it was such a hit!
Sharon says
Is it possible to cook this in a roasting bag? If so can you give me direct instructions? Please my first time cooking a pork butt roast.
Christine Pittman says
I’ve never used a roasting bag, so I’m actually not sure, Sharon. If you try, please report back and let us know how it went!
CG says
Hi. If planning to cook this for pulled pork, would you recommend still cooking at 300 up until 190-210 degrees initially, then rest before putting back into oven at 475 or should the initial cook still be only to 180?
Christine Pittman says
For pulled pork I’d take it to at least 195, then rest it for 20-30 minutes. If shredding it, you don’t have to do the final high heat. I do like those crispy bits that can be in amongst shredded pork, but they’re not required, CG.
We also have a pulled pork recipe here – https://cookthestory.com/how-to-make-the-best-pulled-pork/ – if you’d like to check out that version. Enjoy!
Susan Edel says
I don’t normally write recipe reviews, but have to add to this one. We bought an 8# and a 9# roast to make a meal for our local homeless shelter, which feeds about 30 people/day. Yesterday we roasted the first roast and allowed it to chill in the fridge overnight; the 2nd roast is in the oven. My husband just finished slicing the chilled roast and we each tried a small bite. WOW!! This is the best pork roast ever and it was cold, not hot. It is the only way I am ever going to make a large pork roast. It was super easy and I’m looking forward to roasting one for us to eat.
Christine Pittman says
That’s wonderful, Susan! Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Gary E Mintier says
I am making this today. Have an 8.86 bone in pork butt. At 300 degrees it was getting done much faster than 40 minutes a lb. Using oven probe that came with GE wall oven and have used it many other times. Since it needs to be timed for when company arrives, I had to reduce the cooking temperature so that the internal 180 would be closer to the time for Sunday lunch. I am going to do the sear after 45 minutes of resting. I hope that is not too long resting. Hs anyone else had trouble with the rost reaching 180 degrees too soon?
Christine Pittman says
It’s fine to let it rest for up to an hour, Gary. In the article we do mention it can be helpful to check on the recipe after 25 mins x the number of lbs of your roast, in case it cooks quicker like yours did. Hope it turned out perfect for you and your guests!
Renata Varnadore says
I see that you have it wrapped with rope/twine, do we have to do that if it didn’t come like that at the store?
Christine Pittman says
Renata, no, you don’t have to wrap it in rope/twine first. Sometimes the roasts at my store are wrapped like that and sometimes they aren’t. If they are, I leave the twine in place and roast it. If they’re not, then I just go with it unwrapped.
Carol L Goode says
Perfect, juicy, crunchy outside and delicious. Also roasted the extra fatty bits and everyone enjoyed those as well! The gravy recipe listed also turned out perfectly. 5 stars! Definitely reccomend! Will never cook a pork shoulder another way! (I added a bit of Mrs Dash and ground mustard to my seasonings and it was perfect! )
Christine Pittman says
Thanks so much, Carol!
Millie M McPherson says
????????????????
DELICIOUS!! PORK PERFECTION ???
Christine Pittman says
Thank you so much, Millie!
Ceri says
Wow! Amazing roast pork, actually really easy but really effective. The best roast pork I’ve had and the gravy was the cherry on the top!
Christine Pittman says
Thank you so much, Ceri! That’s wonderful.
Melanie says
My life is forever changed, I will never try any other technique!! This came out amazing!! The crispy fat, that also was amazing….. Oh my goodness. Thanks for the great instructions!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Melanie! I’m thrilled that you loved it so much!
Joey says
I put a 2 pound roast in the oven 2.5 hours ago and it still hasn’t reached 180 degrees, I increased the oven temp to 325 an hour ago and have now bumped it up to 350. The roast was at room temp for 1 hours. Anyone else had this issue with the cooking time?
Christine Pittman says
Joey,
I’m honestly not sure what to tell you. A 2 pound roast of any kind should be done after 2.5 hours at 300°F. It’s possible that your roast is an anomaly. Or, maybe, your oven’s temperature is off. That can happen. It’s usually only off by a little bit, a few degrees. If yours was off by 25°F though, that would be enough to really affect things with this recipe. You might want to try getting an oven thermometer and see if that’s what’s up. It could help with a lot of your cooking. Oven thermometers are fairly inexpensive and are super easy to use. You just set it inside of your oven and then take a look at the temperature reading on it when you’re cooking to see if it matches what you’ve set your oven to. Here’s one for under $7 on amazon https://amzn.to/37dZSX6 They sell them at my grocery store for less so you could also check there. Hope this helps!
Gina S Harsh says
I can’t wait to try this! I have a pork “sirloin” roast in my freezer. Which directions do I use for it? Pork loin? Pork tenderloin?
Christine Pittman says
You’ll want to try our Pork Loin recipe for that roast, Gina. https://cookthestory.com/how-to-roast-pork-loin-perfectly/ Enjoy!
Berry Willett says
very good easy to follow, I normally cook on outdoor smoker. This was very simple to follow
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Berry!
Lisa Creuzer says
Perfect. Gravy perfect. Thank you!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Lisa!
KARLEN says
LOVE this method. I’ve always done the reverse. Never again. This is the BEST! You just need to have faith and trust and follow the directions.
Christine Pittman says
Thank you, Karlen! Glad our method worked well for you.
Craig Brown says
Our family loved the Roast. We followed the cooking instructions and the results were outstanding. I dry brined the roast by rubbing 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt / pound and letting it sit for ~ 24 hours. We like spicy foods and used our typical smoking rub (no salt) in place of the herb rub.
I was skeptical of the no cook roux, but the gravy was very good and a nice addition to the meal.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Craig! I appreciate you sharing with us.
Jennifer says
I made this tonight and have to tell you, it’s one of the BEST dinners I’ve ever made. It was absolutely TREMENDOUS. Thank you so much for posting. This one is a keeper!
Christine Pittman says
That’s fantastic, Jennifer! We love to hear that.
Daryl says
I will never make a pork roast any other way, perfect. And the gravy, I have never seen such clear instructions, the rue was perfect. I have been told I am on gravy duty forever moo,
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Daryl! Hope you enjoy gravy duty!
Fran says
I am going to try this tomorrow for dinner for family. Every year I cook a pork roast with sauerkraut. I am cooking a pork shoulder roast 4.69 # I love to cook the sauerkraut in with the roast to give the sauerkraut flavor of the roast. When would you suggest that I put in the sauerkraut cause it does have it’s own juice? Also I read some recipes that call for covering the roast rather than uncover..what makes the difference? Cook time?
Thank you
Christine Pittman says
Check out our Pork and Sauerkraut instructions here – https://cookthestory.com/pork-and-sauerkraut/ Enjoy!
Eileen Demain says
Spectacular recipe! Spectacular results. The gravy is pure genius. Did not change a thing, would not change a thing and cannot wait to make this again!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Eileen! Hope you enjoy it time and time again.