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Pork isn’t my favorite meat to eat, I’ll be honest. Well, unless it’s bacon we’re talking about I guess. What meat eating human doesn’t like bacon? No one, that’s who. While you won’t find any bacon in this recipe, you will find a deliciously juicy, buttery, and garlicky pork roast that makes enough to feed an army. A hungry, pork loving army.

Sometimes ButcherBox likes to send me enormous cuts of meat that take up a ton of room in my freezer that I have no idea how to cook. Seriously, I’ve had a 4.5 pound pork roast sitting in my freezer for months now. I’m not bashing ButcherBox in any way. ButcherBox is amazing. It’s my own fault as a blossoming chef. But this month I added a ton of member specials to my box, so I was a little concerned that I’d run out of room in my freezer for all the new stuff. So I defrosted that 4.5 pound puppy and decided to face my fears and stick it in the oven and hope for the best. And this was the result! I’m very pleased with it and I think you will be too. Mike said: “This tastes healthy. This tastes good! Usually pork sucks.” So, in other words, he’s a fan.

Okay, enough pork talk. I want to know if you share the same pet peeve as me. As you may or may not know I’m working my way through Friends (the TV show) for probably about the millionth time. I can’t help it, I love this show so much. Anyway, every once in a while, they have an episode that’s really just replays/flashbacks of past episodes. Mike likes to call these “lazy episodes,” and he’s totally right. Why do the writers of the show do this? Do they just need to take a vacation mid-season or something? Is this what they do when they come down with a case of writer’s block? Does this bother you as much as this bothers me? I ask because, as I type this, I’m watching one of these episodes right now in season 8. I haven’t watched a “new show” in like, five years. The last one I regularly watched was probably This is Us, and I only watched the first season or two and then stopped because when I moved out of my mom’s house I didn’t get cable (definitely do not regret that decision in case anyone out there is thinking of cutting the cable cord – save that money!). This has really turned into quite the long and rambling paragraph.

Anyway, back to pork. This recipe is moist (sorry), garlicky, “buttery,” and delicious. Go make it. It would be wonderful for a dinner party or for meal prep for the week. I went the meal prep route, but you do you!

thehungryhungryhiker

Garlic Butter Pork Roast

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup ghee softened
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ ounce fresh "Roasting Blend" herb mixture (rosemary, Italian parsley, and thyme) woody stems removed, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 24 ounces baby potatoes scrubbed clean and dried, halved (or quartered if large)
  • 16 ounces Brussels sprouts stems removed and halved
  • 4 carrots, large peeled and cut into ¾" chunks
  • 6 ounces broccoli florets
  • 1 shallot, large peeled and cut into ½" chunks
  • 1 4 – 4.5 lb boneless center cut pork roast patted dry

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 450° F. Get out a large glass baking dish.
  2. Add the ghee, garlic, herbs, sea salt, and black pepper to a small bowl and stir with a spoon to combine. Set aside.
  3. Add all of the vegetables to the baking dish. Pour half of the ghee mixture over the vegetables and massage with your hands to coat the vegetables evenly. Rub the other half of the ghee mixture into the pork roast. Place the pork roast on top of the vegetables, fat cap facing up.
  4. Bake at 450° F for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300° F and bake an additional 20 minutes per pound (for example, if your pork roast is 4 pounds, you would leave it in the oven for an hour and 20 minutes). Do NOT open the oven door at all after you put the pork roast in the oven.
  5. Remove the roast from the oven. Using a meat thermometer, make sure that the center of the pork roast registers 140 – 145° F (see Note). If it's not there yet, place back in the oven in 10 minute increments until it's up to temperature. When the pork is done cooking, remove the roast and place on a flat surface. Let rest, covered loosely with foil, for at least ten minutes before slicing.
  6. Check to see if the vegetables are fork tender to your liking (this cooking time will depend on the size of your vegetables and the size of your baking dish). If they need to cook up a bit, use a spoon to toss the vegetables and place back in the oven at 400° F. Check the vegetables every 10 minutes or so until and toss until °they are tender to your liking.
  7. To serve, slice the pork into ~¾" thick chops. Serve hot with the roasted vegetables on the side and enjoy!

Notes

The USDA states that pork should be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Personally, I like to take the roast out when the center reaches about 140 degrees, because it will continue cooking up a bit as it rests loosely covered. Do what you feel comfortable with here!