My Pork Butt Roast recipe makes an unfussy but impressive dinner or meal prep item that can be used all week long.
Based on my How to Roast Pork Perfectly recipe, this one skips the gravy for times when you just want the roast, without the extra steps. Perfect for a dinner with leftovers or to use for meal prepping.
I like it simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. The prep for making this roast takes about five minutes and then the recipe is hands-off for a few hours while it’s in a low-temp oven.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Is A Pork Butt?
A pork butt, sometimes called a Boston butt, is not actually from the rear of the pig. It comes from the shoulder, along with the pork shoulder cut. It is a cut of meat that has somewhat of an oval shape, tapered on one end, with a mixture of dark and white meat. This cut requires a low and slow cooking method. This helps the fat and connective tissue that would otherwise make it tough and chewy become tender.
Sometimes you’ll find a pork butt roast tied so that the tapered end is pulled in or tucked under to create more of a rounded roast shape, which can contribute to more even cooking. For this unfussy version though, I’ve skipped the tying, with results just as flavorful as if I had tied everything.
How To Cook A Pork Butt Roast
To make a perfectly roasted pork butt, preheat the oven to 300°F. While the oven is preheating, the pork roast needs a little bit of prep that takes just about five minutes.
You’ll see that one side of the pork butt has a little bit of a fat cap on it. Trim this down a bit so it’s only about ¼-inch thick. This will cut down on the rendered fat at the bottom of the roasting pan (in case you want to make gravy, described here) and also helps with even browning.
Transfer the pork butt to a roasting pan (no need for the roasting rack) and then rub the pepper, garlic powder, and salt all over the top, bottom, and sides. Pour the chicken stock into the bottom of the pan. This will add a little bit of humidity to the oven while the pork butt cooks at the low temperature, eliminating the need to cover the roast while it’s cooking (another unfussy step).
Make sure the pork butt is in the pan with the fat cap side up, and place the pan into the oven. The pork butt will need to cook for about 40 minutes per pound. About 2 and ½ to 3 hours for the size mentioned in the recipe below. We’re looking to reach an internal temperature around 180°F at this point, higher than you would for other cuts, but it will still be tender inside. If your roast is a different size, make sure to calculate for your cooking time. Plus, it’s always good to give it an occasional check with an instant read thermometer.
Remove the pan from the oven, transfer roast to plate and cover with foil, and set this aside for about 15 minutes. Pour drippings out of the pan (use for pork gravy!), rinse out the pan and wipe it down for a clean pan.
While the roast is resting, increase oven temperature to 475°F. Return pork and pan to oven and roast for another 8 to 10 minutes more. Keep an eye on it, you want the top and sides of pork butt to be caramelized. Remove the roast from the oven, slice, and serve warm.
If you did decide you want to make gravy, you can check out my amazing Pork Gravy recipe.
Serving Pork Butt Roast
Of course I enjoy serving this freshly sliced with some tasty side dishes. But I also like to make this as part of my weekly meal prep and use it for recipes throughout the week. Try it as part of meals like my upcoming Pork Fried Rice, in pork tacos, or on pulled pork sandwiches.
More Pork Roast Recipes
You can browse my full collection of recipes for roast dinners, but here’s some more of my favorite pork roasts.
- Roasted Pork Shoulder
- Garlic Roast Pork Recipe
- Pork Crown Roast
- Instant Pot Roast Pork
- Pork and Sauerkraut
Podcast Episode About Making Pork Butt Roast
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this roast, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Pork Butt Roast Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
My Pork Butt Roast recipe makes an unfussy but impressive dinner or meal prep item that can be used all week long.
Ingredients
- 1 (3-4 lb.) boneless pork butt, fat cap lightly trimmed
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Place pork butt directly into a roasting pan, fat cap side up. Rub top, bottom, and sides of pork butt with pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Pour chicken stock into pan.
- Place pan in oven. Roast 40 minutes per pound, or for about 2 and ½ to 3 hours.
- Transfer roast to rimmed plate and cover with foil to rest for 15- 30 minutes. Pour drippings out of pan, rinse out pan, and wipe it down.*
- Meanwhile, increase oven temperature to 475°F.
- Return roast to pan and cook in the hot oven, uncovered, until the meat is nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes, or until top and sides of pork butt are caramelized.
- Remove from oven. Slice and serve warm.
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
*This step is done so that any drippings in the pan don’t burn when you put the pan back into the oven at a hot temperature. You really want a clean roasting pan for that step. If not using the drippings in the roasting pan, just pour them out, rinse the pan, and wipe it dry. If using the drippings to make gravy, first, pour them out of the roasting pan. Then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water or stock to the roasting pan and swish it around. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any flavorful browned bits. Add this liquid to your drippings. Then rinse out the pan and wipe it dry before adding the roast back to the pan.
This post originally appeared in July 2022 and was revised and republished in October 2023.
I think you need to pour off the drippings for gravy before you put pork back in oven at 475. Your drippings will burn in the pan at that high heat.
Anne, you are absolutely correct! My other reverse-sear recipes have you do exactly that but I’m not sure why it was omitted above. I’ve added the information to the recipe. Thank you for your comment.
Looking up a recipe to cook my pork butt and came across yours. It was a bone in but followed the instructions and came out perfect!
I’m so happy to hear that, Debbie! Thanks for letting me know.
What a delicious recipe. The almost
5 lb. roast cooked for 3hrs 45 min. on a bed of sweet onions, garlic and rosemary. Then crisped for another 20 at 425. It was moist, flavorful and so easy – timed so I finished it after Sunday am service. Served with saffron rice, asparagus, green beans, and homemade dinner rolls. Peach & Blueberry Cobbler served hours later. Thank you 😊
Wow, that sounds like an amazing meal, Phyllis! Thank you so much for sharing with us.
I made this recipe using Kosher salt & cracked black pepper in addition to the garlic powder. Simple recipe was delicious! Made sauce with less chili flakes cause I don’t like to spicy. I sliced pork & soaked in sauce then put on bun woth Cole slaw, yum.
That sounds wonderful, Josie! Thanks for coming back to comment.
Novice cook here. I roasted 2 lbs per instructions and it was perfect – moist, tasty. The roast time is the same as for 3-4 lbs. I normally do not like pork because it is dry, but this one was just great. I could have made a bit of gravy with the liquid left, but just added some wine. Be careful that the chicken stock does not dry out. Will be checking out more recipes from this site.
Sharon, I’m so happy that it worked for you. And I agree that a lot of pork can be dry, but the pork butt roast cut is juicy if cooked correctly. It’s my favorite cut of pork, other than maybe ribs. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment!
Making this for Easter Dinner. It is a responsibly raised local pork roast 51/2 lbs. Is the cooking time per lb. The same? It has a bone. Looks and sounds delicious. I’m excited to try it.
Angela, it might be more like 45-50 minutes per pound. But these roasts are all slightly different shapes and everyone’s oven is different, so the exact number is tough. But here’s the thing: The roast can rest for a wide range of time (30-90 minutes) tented with foil after it reaches the desired temperature and it will stay warm inside. And then you put it back in the hot oven to crisp it up for a bit, which heats the outside. And you’ll serve it with hot gravy, so that will warm it too. So, what I like to do is to plan for the roast to be done earlier than expected. If it ends up taking longer, then it rests for only 30 minutes. If it takes less time, it rests for 90 minutes. Either way, I plan to finish off the side dishes while it rests, so everything is ready at the same time. More concretely, if I want to eat dinner at 6:00, I’ll plan for the roast to be ready at 5:00, roasting it at 45 minutes a pound, that’s about 4 hours for your roast. So then it’s in the oven at 1:00pm. It will reach a safe temperature (145Fis minimum safe temperature, 180F is the ideal temperature for this kind of dark pork meat) somewhere between 4:30-5:30. If it’s out at 4:30, I tent it with foil, and get started on my other dishes, and then we eat between 5:30-6:00. If it’s done at 5:30, I start prepping my side dishes a bit before it’s done, finish them while it rests for 30 minutes and then it goes into the hot oven, and we eat around 6:00-6:30. I’d tell guests to arrive at 5:00 and I’d put out some snacks and let people have drinks, and it works out. I hope that helps! Have a wonderful dinner!
Hi! Can this recipe apply to bone-in pork butt too? I have an almost 7lb roast that I’d like to cook this way if possible. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes!
Yes, Carla, this will work for your bone-in pork butt as well. The timing can be a bit different because of how bone conducts heat. Use an instant-read or probe thermometer that can stay in and check the temperature regularly. It will take between 4-5 hours.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My new pork roast go to! Such a simple recipe but it yields such a delicious roast! I had an almost 7lb bone in roast, it took this roast about 3 hrs & 15 min to get it to 180°. Then it rested for 20 min. Back in the oven at 475° for 30min. DELICIOUS, moist, with a scrumptious crispy exterior. I want to leave FIVE STARS but I don’t see the stars to add.
I’m so happy it worked out well for you, Carla! You should be able to click on the stars in the recipe card to rate, but the star ratings have been acting up occasionally this week. Thanks for coming back to share your results!
I made this and was super easy but super good just those everyday seasonings made my roast taste like I was a chef. Thank you very much, sheena
Thank you, Sheena. I love this roast and am so glad you did too!
Such an easy recipe. Easy is my kinda recipe. Smelled so good while cooking.
Love it.
Thank you, Janet! Yes, the house smells so good while it cooks. Enjoy!
Simple, delicious, easy!! I’ve cooked pork butt before, but this was better than I have ever done in my own!!
Jill, I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for coming back to let me know. You’ve made my day! :-)
Pork is my absolute favorite meat to roast because it is so flavorful. This is a really simple recipe but very versatile because the meat can be eaten as-is or used in so many other ways, like tacos or sandwiches.