Pork Shoulder Roast with Onion and Marjoram Recipe
Pork shoulder roast with onion and marjoram is a classic, homestyle main dish that often appears on Sunday or at family celebrations. The meat is roasted for a long time until it becomes tender and juicy, while the onion turns into a natural, aromatic sauce. It’s a bit like a stew, but in roast form – perfect with potatoes and sauerkraut.
A simple, traditional Polish roast where long, slow baking turns inexpensive pork shoulder into tender, juicy meat in a naturally sweet onion sauce, perfect for family gatherings.
Chef's tips
Don’t rush the searing step – a well-browned crust adds a lot of flavor to both the meat and the sauce. If the top of the roast browns too quickly in the oven, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking until tender.
How to serve
Serve the sliced roast on a warm platter, spoon over plenty of onion sauce and garnish with fresh marjoram or parsley. Add pickled cucumbers or sauerkraut salad on the side for a classic Polish touch.
Ingredients
- boneless pork shoulder in one piece or two smaller pieces - 1200 g
- onion large - 3 piece
- garlic - 4 clove
- dried marjoram - 2 teaspoon
- bay leaf - 2 piece
- allspice - 4 grain
- vegetable stock or water - 300 ml
- oil for searing the meat - 2 tablespoon
- salt or to taste - 1.5 teaspoon
- pepper or to taste - 0.5 teaspoon
- flour optional, for thickening the sauce - 1 tablespoon
Preparation
- Rinse the meat under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. If there are very thick pieces of fat, you can trim them off partially, but leave some so the roast stays juicy.
- Rub the pork shoulder thoroughly with salt, pepper, marjoram and garlic pressed through a garlic press. Set aside for at least 15 minutes (preferably for a few hours in the fridge) so the meat absorbs the seasonings.
- Peel the onions and slice them into feathers or thick half-moons.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over fairly high heat. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for 2–3 minutes on each side until the surface is nicely browned. This will give the roast more flavor.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat).
- Transfer the sliced onion, bay leaves and allspice to an ovenproof dish. Place the seared meat on top of the onions. Pour a little stock or water into the pan in which you seared the meat, stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom – pour this liquid into the dish with the meat. Add the remaining stock.
- Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven. Roast for about 1.5 hours. Every 30 minutes, baste the meat with the sauce from the bottom of the dish. Towards the end of roasting, check with a fork – if the meat is tender and easy to pierce, it is ready.
- For the last 15–20 minutes of roasting you can remove the lid so the meat browns slightly on top.
- Take the roasted meat out onto a board and let it rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
- Pour the onions and juices from the baking dish into a saucepan. If you want a smooth sauce, you can blend it with a hand blender. If you prefer a sauce with pieces of onion, leave it as it is.
- If the sauce is too thin, mix the flour with 3 tablespoons of cold water, pour into the saucepan with the sauce, mix thoroughly and bring to a boil, stirring until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Slice the meat and serve topped with the hot onion sauce.
Storage
Pieczeń przechowuj w lodówce w sosie, w szczelnym pojemniku, do 4 dni. Podgrzewaj powoli w garnku lub w piekarniku pod przykryciem, podlewając sosem. Możesz też zamrozić pokrojoną pieczeń razem z sosem na 2–3 miesiące.
