Slow-roasted pork with cracklings and gravy are a perfect Sunday roast

This is one of those cold-weather recipes that fills your kitchen with the wonderful aroma of roasting meat. It's incredibly easy to prepare -- basically, salt and pepper your pork shoulder, then pop it into the oven, and let it slowly roast for about 6 hours. The skin crisps up while roasting into delicious cracklings, and the cooking juices are simply whisked into a luscious gravy.

See Also

Crispy Pork Shoulder with Shank

Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder with Mediterranean Herbs

Pork Shoulder and Beans

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 pounds bone-in pork shoulder
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 large onions, peeled with root intact
• 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 whole head of garlic
• 5 fresh bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 cups chicken broth or water

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 360 minutes

• Total Time: 370 minutes
• Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a sharp paring knife, score the pork shoulder's fat, without piercing the meat, in 1-inch cuts over the surface of the fat layer.
2. Massage Kosher salt all over the fat layer, getting some into the scored cuts. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Turn the pork roast over, and sprinkle lightly with more salt and pepper.
3. Transfer the pork into a roasting pan, fat-side up, and roast in the oven 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F, and cover the pork snugly with aluminum foil. Return the roasting pan to the oven, and roast 4-1/2 hours.

1. Take the roast out of the oven and remove the foil. Baste the pork with the fat and cooking juices. Transfer the roast to a cutting board, reserve 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan and discard the rest (or use it for roasting potatoes). 
2. Halve the two onions, keeping the root so the halves remain intact. Peel the outer skin off the garlic, then slice the head in half. Arrange the onions halves, garlic halves, parsnips, celery pieces and fresh bay leaves in the center of the roasting pan, then lay the roast on top. Return the pork to the oven and roast, uncovered, 1 more hour.
3. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and let it rest 30 minutes before carving. While the pork is resting, you can make the gravy.
4. Spoon off as much of the fat as you can and discard. Put the roasting pan over a burner and add sprinkle the flour over the remaining cooking juices, and turn the heat on medium. Cook the flour, using a wooden spoon to keep it moving, 1 minute.
5. Whisk in the chicken broth, deglazing the browned bits, and cook the gravy until it begins to thicken. Strain the gravy through a mesh strainer, pushing down on the vegetables to exude their cooking juices, into a saucepan. Discard the vegetables, and bring the gravy to a simmer. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

1. Remove the cracking and slice into strips. Carve the pork roast -- don't worry if they're not neat slices -- and arrange on a serving platter with the crackling. Spoon some of the gravy over the pork and serve the rest of the gravy on the side.