How to Make Dry Rub Pork Shoulder Video with Recipe

An easy summer dinner party entree idea that is plentiful, delicious and can be prepared in advance

One of my favorite meals to cook for backyard parties during summer is a slow-roasted pork shoulder crusted in homemade dry rub. While you’re outside enjoying the weather with friends and family, your meal can be slowly cooking in the oven all day long–and ready to be served when you get home. In this video demonstration, I’ll show you how to make the perfect dry-rubbed, slow-roasted pork shoulder, sharing techniques for getting the perfect tenderness and moistness in your cut of meat, as well as talk about the key ingredients necessary for creating your own dry rub recipe. As long as you start with a base of equal parts sugar and salt, some dry mustard and paprika, the remaining ingredients are really up to the chef’s imagination. My go-to dry rub recipe for summer is included below, but I also like to incorporate exotic spices into a dry rub base, bringing the flavors of Japan, the Mediterranean or India to pork, chicken or beef.  I love drying my own ancho chilis and using them in rubs because the cherry fruit flavors in Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon really bring out a fruit nuance in the chili.

If feeling really creative, you can dehydrate your own chilis and garlic for dry rubs. It’s actually quite easy to do (see my post about preserving fruits, herbs, vegetables and spices through all seasons by dehydrating them). Once chilis and garlic slices are dried, I grind them into a powder using either a mortal and pestle (as demonstrated in the video) or a repurposed coffee grinder. I have three small coffee grinders each with a designated use: one is for chilies, one for spices and one for peppercorns, which we grind daily. Both Braun and Krups make inexpensive and capable grinders.

Recipe: Summer Dry Rub on Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

This dry rub can be easily adjusted to your family’s tastes and is sure to be handed down from generation to generation. As an alternative, try my exotic spice rub recipes.

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup kosher salt
  • ¾ cup demerara sugar (Turbinado or Sugar in the Raw may be substituted)
  • ½ cup Chinese dried mustard (Coleman’s may be substituted)
  • ¼ cup smoked paprika
  • 4 Tbsp dehydrated garlic (garlic powder may be substituted)
  • 6 Tbsp dehydrated onion (onion powder may be substituted)
  • 6 Tbsp ancho chili powder
  • 2 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 Tbsp ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
  • 4 Tbsp coriander

Instructions:

  1. To make the dry rub, source the freshest ingredients possible. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the ingredients to a uniform grain without any large pieces. To save time, pulse in a spice or coffee grinder. Store in a mason jar or airtight container and keep in the pantry for up to one month.
  2. Choose a bone-in pork shoulder sized for the amount of guests you’ll be serving (one pound per person). Either trim or ask your butcher to trim the meat to leave as much of the fat cap on the meat as possible. This will ensure the most flavorful and tender finished product. You can also lightly score the fat cap to reduce the cook time by 25 percent.
  3. Let the meat come to room temperature at least one hour prior to preparing. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
  4. Dust both sides of the pork with one half of the dry rub mixture. Place seasoned pork with the fat cap up into a perforated pan and leave uncovered to create a ‘bark’ and give the pork a smoky flavor. A disposable turkey pan from the grocery store works well if you don’t have a perforated pan at home. Cook for 1½ hours per pound and dust pork with remaining dry rub half way through the cook time.
  5. Remove from oven, tent with foil and allow the meat to rest in its own juices for two to three hours prior to slicing and serving.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 15 hours

Number of servings (yield): 10

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About the Author

Growing up in Hawaii, Todd Knoll developed a strong connection to the land and the ocean at an early age. As executive chef at Jordan Winery, he grows hundreds of heirloom vegetables, fruits and herbs, cooks hors d’oeuvres and meals for guests, makes olive oil, and tends to the estate’s honeybees and chickens. A visual artist at heart, Chef Knoll spends his free time with his son and wife, Nitsa Knoll, exploring the diverse terrain of Sonoma County with camera and pencil in hand, capturing moments in nature to inspire his next recipe.

    • Mariana
    • December 18, 2018
    Reply

    Hi, my name is Mariana, I’m Brazilian and I would like to know
    the amount of the ingredients would be for what amount of meat?
    Thanks

  1. Pingback: Top Blog Posts of 2016 | Jordan Winery Wine & Food

    • Edward Malk
    • April 10, 2016
    Reply

    First of All, this recipe is awesome. I have made it on 3 separate occasions and I am still in awe of the results. I smoke it with apple wood in a Big Green Egg.

    Additionally, there is a reference above to “Modernist Kitchen” about preserving fruits, herbs, vegetables and spices through all seasons by dehydrating them. I cannot seem to find this post. How do I find it?

    Thanx in advance for your assistance.

    • L.A. Blasky
    • November 30, 2015
    Reply

    Thanks for the dry rub recipe! I tried it and it came out perfect and my family loved it! I am glad I found your site, and will keep coming back for more advice!
    Thank you!

    • Kjell Kallman
    • July 3, 2012
    Reply

    Thanks to the good folks at Jordan for sharing this recipe. What a nice gesture for simply following your Tweets. You guys know how to do social media just right.

      • Anonymous
      • July 5, 2012
      Reply

      Thank you for the compliment! You made our day. Hope you had a great holiday.

    • Robert
    • June 27, 2012
    Reply

    is there any way you could get these meats precooked?

      • Anonymous
      • June 27, 2012
      Reply

      Robert,
      You could go to your local barbecue restaurant/deli (ours is Lombardi’s in Petaluma) and ask them to slow-roast you a pork shoulder to go. That said, you would only be able to use their dry rub recipe, not your own.
      Lisa

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