Chef John's Garlic-Studded Roast Pork

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 200 min
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Description

Chef John's roast pork is studded with garlic cloves and seasoned with rosemary, Italian seasoning, and cayenne, resulting in tender, flavorful meat.

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder roast
6 cloves garlic, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup thinly sliced baby romaine lettuce
1/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cups cooked white beans

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2 Cut about six holes into each side of pork roast with a sharp knife; insert one garlic clove half into each hole. Rub roast with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season all sides of roast with kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper, then season with Italian seasoning, rosemary, and cayenne pepper. Place into a roasting pan.
3 Roast in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Turn the oven off with roast inside and leave it to rest for 1 hour. Then refrigerate the roast, 8 hours to overnight.
4 Cut cold pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices. If any garlic appears on the cut surface of the meat, pick it out so it doesn't burn. Season slices with salt.
5 Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat and sear pork slices in the hot oil until browned and crusty, about 10 minutes per side.
6 Toss lettuce with tomatoes in a bowl and drizzle with red wine vinegar; toss again to coat.
7 Heat beans in a saucepan over low heat. Layer about 1/3 cup white beans into a large, shallow soup plate; top beans with a slice of pork shoulder and about 1/4 cup lettuce mixture.