Roasts always intimidate me. Small pork chops and I understand each other, but a hefty roast I approach with respect.

I saw a recipe that I liked for Puerto Rican roast pork and wow it looked good. Mostly olive oil, garlic and dried oregano blended. But I have a penchant for things a little spicy, so I enlisted the help of Jamaica and it was definitely the right alliance!

Roast Pork Shoulder

• 4 – 5 lb pork shoulder
• 2 limes or lemons juiced, you could also use a nice sherry vinegar
• 1 small head of garlic, peeled
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp white pepper (truly! It’s my new love and Dad was right all those years, it’s tastier than black pepper. Hah!)
• Himalayan Salt to taste
• 4 tbls dried oregano
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup olive oil
• Two heaped tablespoons Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

(It’s a pasted blend of: spring onions, fresh chilies, all spice, onion, nutmeg, fresh thyme, salt and pepper, basically)

Blend all the marinade ingredients and coat the roast rubbing it in well. Sort of a pork massage, so to speak. Marinade minimum of 4 hours, overnight if possible.

Place in your roasting pan, pour over marinade juice. Slice an onion and tuck it around the roast.

Put in low oven, 325F max and cover with foil. I think I roasted mine for about 3 hours. It was deliciously tender.

Roast slowly until cooked to 165F inside or if you prefer a more well done roast, until 170F, but that’s way too well done for my taste.

Check every hour and baste with marinade.

Broil the top fat if there is any, for a nice browned finish. Tip! A little bit of ground salt on the fat helps to make a nice crisp fat topping.

I served it with roasted veg (butternut, sweet potato and broccoli) that I put in beside the roast about an hour after I placed the pork in the oven.

Cheers!