Slow Roasted Aromatic Pork in Smaller Size

Asked by JBK. Answered on 21st August 2014

Full question

I would like to cook the Slow-Roasted Aromatic Shoulder Of Pork from Nigella Bites. My joint is 3.1kg and I noticed in another comment that you suggested if the shoulder was this size the cooking time would need to be revised down from 24hrs. Could you please advise on the cooking time for this size of shoulder joint. Many thanks.

Our answer

Nigella's Slow-Roasted Aromatic Shoulder Of Pork (from Nigella Bites) uses a 9.5kg bone-in shoulder of pork and this cooks in a very low oven for 24 hours. As shoulder of pork has a good marbling of fat the meat doesn't dry out despite the long cooking time. Most larger joints should still have a cooking time of 24 houes, even if they aren't quite the full 9.5kg.

However for joints around 3kg and below will cook more quickly and it is not particularly efficient to cook them for quite so long. For this size of joint the cooking time will be 6 to 8 hours. We would tend to err on the side of 8 hours as the meat should be tender enough to pull apart with a fork and if the meat is ready slightly earlier then the joint will happily sit in a warm place under a blanket of foil for up to an hour.