Jamaican Pork Roast with Pickapeppa Gravy

This is an update to a recipe originally posted in early 2012 but the recipe itself is at least a decade older than that.  I don't remember the inspiration for this dish, but it was one of my preferred methods for preparing a pork shoulder roast.  I made it for My Number One Fan several times and it was a favorite of hers.  Then, we sorta forgot about it.  Some time later, I resurrected and published it to Kitchen Tapestry for posterity.  I've modified the recipe over time, so it was time to update.

You don't need a slow cooker to do this recipe, and neither do you need to sear the roast in oil before popping it in the oven; these are two requirements of many online pork roast recipes that you'll find on the Internet.

What you do need, however, is a large ceramic roasting (casserole-type) dish with a tight-fitting lid.  It's important that the cooking vessel be large enough to accommodate the roast with room to spare that preferably has a domed lid to further allow the flavorful steam bath to circulate over the roast while the outside of the meat becomes browned and crusty.  

This dish works well with noodles, mashed potatoes or simple, simmered new or red potatoes which you can smash on the plate with some of the delicious gravy spooned over.

You will also need a bottle of Pickapeppa Sauce.  This is a unique and versatile sauce from the island of Jamaica, sometimes referred to as Jamaican ketchup.  You can learn more about it by clicking here.

Ingredients

4-6 pound pork shoulder roast, either bone in or out (sometimes referred to as a Boston Butt)
1 5-oz bottle Pickapeppa Sauce
4 tbsp dried thyme
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup dry sherry wine
1 medium navel orange
1 tbsp powdered mustard (like, Coleman's)
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

The Recipe
Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.

Pour the olive oil into the ceramic roasting dish and coat the bottom and sides evenly.  Place the roast in the dish and move the meat all around so the olive oil coats the roast.

Liberally smear the Pickapeppa sauce all over the roast, reserving about 1/4 of the bottle for later, getting it into all the nooks and crevasses.  Salt and pepper the roast, then rub in the dried thyme. Turn the roast over and repeat these steps, ensuring the fat side of the roast winds up on top.

Pop the roast in the 450° oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes.  This will sear the outside of the meat.

Remove the roast from the oven and reduce the heat to 375° degrees.  Pour the vinegar and wine into the roasting dish, cut the orange in half, and place the halves of the orange on either side of the meat. Your braising liquid needs to cover the roast half-way.  If you need more liquid, add a bit of chicken stock. 

Cover and return the roast to the oven for 4-1/2 to 5 hours until done.  You'll know it's done by its color and tenderness, but if you want to check with a probe thermometer, it should register north of 145 degrees.

When the roast has finished cooking, remove it to a serving tray and allow to rest covered with aluminum foil while you make the gravy. The roast should be falling apart, but I take care to remove it in chunks to the resting dish.  This isn't a pork roast to be shredded.

You may or may not need to remove any accumulated fat. You want 3-4 tablespoons. If you have too much, siphon off some of it with a turkey baster or large spoon.  You also want to retain all the brown bits that have accumulated in the bottom of the roasting dish.  De-glaze the pan with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, scraping all of the crusty bits from the bottom of the pan, then pour all of the liquid into a sauce pan.  Squeeze whatever juice remains from the oranges into the sauce pan, then discard them.

Add the mustard and the flour to a small bowl or juice glass with enough water to make a slurry.

Add the remaining chicken stock, the heavy cream and the rest of the Pickapeppa Sauce and bring to a simmer.  Check for seasoning as it will probably need salt and pepper.  Add the slurry to the boiling sauce and allow it to bubble and thicken for about a minute.

Spoon out chunks of the roast so you can preserve the crusty goodness of the outside, rather than shredding the meat as most Boston Butt recipes call for.  Spoon the gravy over the roast and your noodles or potatoes, and serve.